The Tyranny of Experts

Posted on 05 September 2018 by William Easterly

Over the last century, global poverty has largely been viewed as a technical problem that merely requires the right expert solutions Yet all too often, experts recommend solutions that fix immediate problems without addressing the systemic political factors that created them in the first place Further, they produce an accidental collusion with benevolent autocrats, leaving dictators with yet power to violate the rights of the poor.In The Tyranny of Experts, economist William Easterly, bestselling author of The White Man s Burden, traces the history of the fight against global poverty, showing not only how these tactics have trampled the individual freedom of the world s poor, but how in doing so have suppressed a vital debate about an alternative approach to solving poverty freedom Presenting a wealth of cutting edge economic research, Easterly argues that only a new model of development one predicated on respect for the individual rights of people in developing countries, that understands that unchecked state power is the problem and not the solution will be capable of ending global poverty once and for all. New Read [ The Tyranny of Experts ] Author [ William Easterly ] – kino-fada.fr I m not without bias, but I d like to think I came at this book with an open mind I have a deep respect for hard won expertise But, like most academics, I also have a deep respect for modesty and the careful application of knowledge This book doesn t argue against that kind of expertise, it argues against the use of technocracy to overlook issues of rights and politics in development And in this respect, the book is actually a little late to the party, since these issues have been discussed I m not without bias, but I d like to think I came at this book with an open mind I have a deep respect for hard won expertise But, like most academics, I also have a deep respect for modesty and the careful application of knowledge This book doesn t argue against that kind of expertise, it argues against the use of technocracy to overlook issues of rights and politics in development And in this respect, the book is actually a little late to the party, since these issues have been discussed and examined forthan two decades outside of the economics discipline i...A disappointing book Easterly s previous work The White Man s Burden was not my favourite book either, but it at least had enough thought provoking arguments and material This time around his arguments are facile and repetitive So yes we get that freedom is good and autocracy is bad I m not sure anyone really argues otherwise He doesn t really investigate why Western governments, aid agencies and NGOs have been willing to overlook poor governance and human rights abuses to deliver aid Seco A disappo...I m generally sympathetic to Easterly s ideas about development, but I found this book uneven, even unfocused, and had trouble getting through it The main message is that the Development Industry embodied by the World Bank, consultants, and big donors is flawed even guaranteed ineffective by design Certain characteristics have been embedded in development since its beginnings and Easterly has some things to say about when development began mainly, 1920s China, rather than thep I m generally sympathetic to Easterly s ideas about development, but I found this book uneven, even unfocused, and had trouble getting through it The main message is that the Development Industry embodied by the World Bank, consultants, and big donors is flawed even guaranteed ineffective by design Certain characteristics have been embedd...The world is fairly well divided between the haves and have nots, a pair of opposing regions that the author dubs the west and the rest Easterly argues that the rise in material wealth and means and roughly coincided with the gradual rise in individual liberty throughout the western world.in 1949, with the advent of the United Nations, the west decided to drag the rest into prosperity the problem, the author proposes, is that we aren t letting the individuals of the impoverished areas achi The world is fairly well divided between the haves and have nots, a pair of opposing regions that the author dubs the west and the rest Easterly argues that the rise in material wealth and means and roughly coincided with the gradual rise in individual liberty throughout the western world.in 1949, with the advent of the United Nations, the west decided to drag the rest into prosperity the problem, the author proposes, is that we aren t letting the individuals of the impoverished areas achieve prosperity in the same way it was achieved in the west instead, we are endorsing the rule of autocrats despots in countries that will drive conscious development prescribed by a cadre of experts the problem here is that the dictators in question have to oppress citizens and suppress dissent in order to implement the programs prescribed by the experts.the development community has universally adopted the conscious design attitud...This is a tedious book to read, and I disagree with some of what Easterly argues Despite his protestations otherwise, Easterly is a bit too much of a free market advocate for me However, he makes some very important points that make it worth reading This quote near the end sort of sums it up We must not let caring about material suffering of the poor change the subject from caring about the rights of the poor It doesn t mean that we care less about the material suffering it means tha...Classic Easterly, although not as robust as some of his previous work Well thought, well argued case for the need for the international development community to respect the rights of the poor Raises a MUCH needed discussion about disparities between the international community s respect of rights for denizens of the West and those of the Rest.Heavily based on liberal ideology of how individual political rights and free markets are primary Glosses over h...Easterly s new book is a little disorganized and scattershot, but it is also rich with thoughtful asides and genuine compassion His main argument deserves the elaboration he gives it the best, and in fact only, way to improve the lives of the poor is to give them the freedom to pursue their own dreams All the aid policies and technical fixes that rely on givingpower to unaccountable autocrats only exacerbate both poverty and repression.Easterly makes good use of the development technocr Easterly s new book is a little disorganized and scattershot, but it is also rich with thoughtful asides and genuine compassion His main argument deserves the elaboration he gives it the best, and in fact only, way to improve the lives of the poor is to give them the freedom to pursue their own dreams All the aid policies and technical fixes that rely on givingpower to unaccountable autocrats only exacerbate both poverty and repression.Easterly makes good use of the development technocrats ignorance of history to mock their cla...This book is full of surprises.In The Tyranny of Experts, the author of the seminal book The White Man s Burden drills down into the history of economic development around the world in search of its causes What he finds has little to do with any of the factors bandied about among contemporary development professionals The conventional approach to economic development, to making poor countries rich, William Easterly writes, is based on a technocratic illusion the belief that poverty is a pur This book is full of surprises.In The Tyranny of Experts, the author of the seminal book The White Man s Burden drills down into the history of economic development around the world in search of its causes What he finds has little to do with any of the factors bandied about among contemporary development professionals The conventional approach to economic development, to making poor countries rich, William Easterly writes, is based on a technocratic illusion the belief that poverty is a purely technical problem amenable to such technical solutions as fertilizers, antibiotics, or nutritional supplementsThe technocratic approach ignores what this book will establish as the real cause of poverty the unchecked power of the state against poor people without ...It is a very interesting book, full of historical facts about economical development This book is able to teach us the importance of innovation in world markets, and how freedom is one of the most important factors in order to make a country able of making its economy grow up.Ho scelto questo libro per il titolo accattivante e le buone recensioni una delusione L autore, PHD della NY University , ex economista della Word Bank, un neoliberista anzi ordoliberista, fanatico di Hayek e seguace di Friedmann la definizione migliore quella di Amartya Sen l uomo per cui il piano migliore non avere nessun piano In accordo con ci , la tesi fondamentale del libro I paesi liberi individualistici hanno una migliore performance economica di quelli autar...

English
05 September 2018

William Easterly