Abundance

by Ezra Klein

The Rise and Decline of Nations is a classic economics text. But time has exposed gaps in the theory. Japan has gone from economic poster child to growth laggard. Olson’s argument would seem to imply that the United States, with its geographic protection against invasion and its long history of continuity, would be far more sclerotic than Germany, but it isn’t. And Olson has no real answer for why so few countries that fall into crisis subsequently grow into affluence. Olson’s biggest error is his assumption that groups organize around redistribution. Olson almost completely missed the post-materialist turn in the politics of affluent countries. Some groups seek to fill their coffers, but others organize to protect the environment, to increase safety standards, to preserve the feel of their communities, or to express their values. These kinds of groups have been engines of social progress. Their existence is a gift of affluence, not a disease of affluence.