Happy Friday! ☀️
I spent another week in the Dordogne, visiting chateaus and gardens and finally made it to Lascaux IV, the replica of the famous cave where filled with wall paintings created by our ancestors 20,000 years (!) ago. It’s a must-see in the region.
What I’m reading 📖
My friend Eric recommended this book to me a few months ago and it’s been sitting on my Kindle shelf unread for a while. I finally tackled this incredibly dense and ambitious book and it left my head spinning. Throughout history and across geographies, ‘Why Nations Fail’ explores the reasons why nations and societies have developed economically in starkly different ways, some that have flourished and others that remain poor. Part history, part economics, the authors share a plethora of examples, taking you from the Mayans to the French Revolution, from Congo to Nepal, all in the same chapter. From a review of The Washington Post:
“Why Nations Fail“ focuses on the historical currents and critical junctures that mold modern polities: the processes of institutional drift that produce political and economic institutions that can be either inclusive — focused on power-sharing, productivity, education, technological advances and the well-being of the nation as a whole; or extractive — bent on grabbing wealth and resources away from one part of society to benefit another.
At times, the simplified thesis becomes repetitive (the book has 470 pages) and at times I was left wondering if for the sake of a boiled down simplified thesis, they left out nuanced reasons that go beyond the dichotomy of inclusive vs. extractive institution. All in all, however, it was a thrilling read.
What I’m listening to 🎧
Produced by the BBC, ‘Tunnel 29’ is a podcast series about a group of students in East-Berlin who at just after the Berlin Wall was being erected, started digging a tunnel to help Berliners stuck on the other side escape to the West. It’s a fantastic story, beautifully narrated in short episodes, and filled with interviews of the protagonists. Highly recommended for fans of Berlin’s history. Here’s the trailer:
What I’m watching 📺
Spending so much time learning about history and the middle ages in particular gave me the urge to re-watch Game of Thrones. It’s the second time I am watching the full series and phew, what a ride. Most of you must have seen it by now, if not, here is the trailer.
What I’m thinking about 🧠
Poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but on purpose.
– from “Why Nations Fail”, a sentence that still makes me think…
What else?! 💯
My friend Matze spent a week in Kenya with Neven Subotic’s foundation to visit communities that the foundation has helped provide access to clean drinking water by building wells and toilets. Matze is doing another fundraising run for the foundation, and if you can, join me in donating.
Thanks for reading, bon weekend!
David
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