According to Acemoglu and Robinson, the true origins are not geography, natural resources, or culture. Instead, they’re institutions like democracy, property rights, and the rule of law; inclusive ones bring prosperity, and extractive ones—ones that bend the economy and the rules of the game to the service of entrenched elite—bring poverty. The authors make a compelling case, and when they turn their attention to America’s current condition, they offer important insights and cautions:
