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Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships [Paperback]

Mancur Olson (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (30 Oct 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0465051960
  • ISBN-13: 978-0465051960
  • Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 12.6 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 81,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"Power and Prosperity is an important book, written with clarity and verve. It is a great misfortune that Mancur Olson is not here to respond to the debates that it will surely provoke." The Wall Street Journal

Product Description

This final work by a world-renowned economist will take its place among the classics of political economy. Why do some economies do better than others? How does society encourage the kind of market economy that generates continually increasing incomes? How do particular styles of government affect economic performance? World-renowned economist Mancur Olson tackles these questions and others in what will surely be regarded as his magnum opus. Olson contends that governments can play an essential role in the development of markets. Reliable enforcement of private contracts and protection of individual rights to property depend on governments strong enough not to undermine them. His exploration of "market-augmenting governments" will stand as a cutting-edge work on economic growth and provide a useful framework in which to consider the Asian financial crisis and its aftermath. As Susan Lee noted in Forbes, "his pioneering insights might have won a Nobel Prize for Olson had he lived a bit longer. "
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
THESE DAYS, VIRTUALLY ALL ECONOMISTS (and I think also most people in other fields) would agree that societies are most likely to prosper when there are clear incentives to produce and to reap the gains from social cooperation through specialization and trade. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Power and Prosperity 23 Dec 2003
Format:Paperback
I was fortunate enough to be guided to this book during my Masters course in Land Economy at Cambridge. Since then, I haven't stopped praising it to anyone that will listen and many that wouldn't.

It managed to completely change my outlook on the world, politics, the nature of the state and the way in which the world needs to progress. Amongst other things, you will find the explanation for the emergence of the state, the nature of monarchies, the reasons for the failure of communism and the ingredients for a successful economy.

A seminal piece of work that should be the first port of call for anyone interested in the world around them.

This is a must-read book.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mancur Olson is one of the intellectual giants of our time. His nobel prize was awarded for his ground breaking work "The Logic of Collective Action." This work, as with any economic theorizing that must be taken seriously by the establishment, is formal and quantitative, as are his many published papers in the peer reviewed press.

In the "Rise and Decline of Nations" Mancur Olson revealed the teacher in himself with a lucid readable account that left the mathematics in the footnotes. It was one of those books that Samuel Britten would give to his bright nephew who wants to know what it is all about without doing the difficult math (with the exception of some graphs in a later chapter, not difficult to interpret, but which the reader can skim over if they are so inclined, for the argument is clearly stated in the text). The "Rise and Decline of Nations", Mancur Olson's prior book for the greater public, is a hard act to follow, but that he does with this sequel, "Power and Prosperity." And how.

"Power and Prosperity" brings the compelling reasoning of Olson's theories of collective action forward with a lucidity and ease unmatched by any other book I have encountered. And yet he still breaks new ground; the prompting was Olson's observations of the former Soviet Russian Federation's failure to rise above anarchy and to harness the power for free markets for the good of her people. In this book Olson answers the question: Why has Russia failed where the West has succeeded?

Olson's use of language is quite outstanding. He uses no big words where simple words will do. He defines the terms of his essay as he goes. He refers the reader to academic publications for those interested in formal proofs. He does not repeat himself except to remind the reader of the main line of argument, which keeps the whole tight and disciplined, yet easy to read.

This book is very strongly recommended for anyone seeking the synthesis of the big picture and a disciplined logical analysis.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is about how states are born and how economic development depends on the nature of the relationship between the state and the society (society is defined here as all the individual under the rule of a particular state).

It seems the logical development of ideas that Mancur Olson had already published in previous books (Rise and Decline of Nations is also a very good book). The main message of the book can be summed up as the following:

- Any state is always based in the monopoly of violence.

- Economic development depends on the right type of government (democracy/oligarchy better than autocracy).

- Specific groups within any society do press for their narrow interests, damaging the whole of the population.

- The right policy for economic development is based in respect to individual rights (in the economic sense).

Half of the book is dedicated to a very interesting analysis on the communist states economic performance, both before and after Stalin's death.

The style is very clear. This book is certainly though-provoking.

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