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    Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
    Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
    Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
    Audiobook9 hours

    Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

    Written by Ha-Joon Chang

    Narrated by Jim Bond

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    About this audiobook

    With irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of real-life examples, Ha-Joon Chang blasts holes in the “World Is Flat” orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and other neo-liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today’s economic superpowers—from the United States to Britain to his native South Korea—all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. We in the wealthy nations have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling ourselves a fairy tale about the magic of free trade and—via our proxies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization—ramming policies that suit ourselves down the throat of the developing world.

    Unlike typical economists who construct models of how economies are supposed to behave, Chang examines the past: what has actually happened. His pungently contrarian history demolishes one pillar after another of free-market mythology. We treat patents and copyrights as sacrosanct—but developed our own industries by studiously copying others’ technologies. We insist that centrally planned economies stifle growth—but many developing countries had higher GDP growth before they were pressured into deregulating their economies. Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on weaker nations. Bad Samaritans calls on America to return to its abandoned role, embodied in programs like the Marshall Plan, to offer a helping hand, instead of a closed fist, to countries struggling to follow in our footsteps.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 26, 2007
    ISBN9781423346876
    Author

    Ha-Joon Chang

    Ha-Joon Chang has taught in the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, since 1990. He has consulted for numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. He has published eleven books, including Kicking Away the Ladder, winner of the 2003 Myrdal Prize. In 2005, Chang was awarded the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought, whose previous recipients include Amartya Sen and John Kenneth Galbraith.

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    Reviews for Bad Samaritans

    4/5

    158 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Imagine that this book would be mandatory in all colleges and universities in the developing world. I guess many politicians would block it faster than they blocked books that was “inconvenient” for their ego or the country’s image. So much for free speech.
    • 3/5
      A decent if very narrow critique of neoliberalismo with highly selective historical examples
    • 5/5
      Great analysis of what needs to be done for the world economy and how neoliberalism is not the end answer. Loved his take on culture and the role of culture in a society's economic development.
    • 4/5
      Excellent analysis by a London-based economist of how the current world financial system is designed to prevent, not help, developing countries succeed financially.
    • 3/5
      For the most part I found this a dry listen, but there were some interesting parts.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! Anyone concerned about world development should read this.
    • 4/5
      Already read this. Very interesting criticism of neoliberal trade policy, and has some very relevant remarks on 'culture' and economic development. Argues that protectionism is a necessary component of international development, to prevent the industries of more developed companies to completely dismantle any competition.
    • 5/5
      This book is one of the best economics books that I have read. The number of insights per page is very high here and no one else seems to be making these arguments which is a rare thing indeed.
    • 5/5
      This is a very readable discussion of “globalism” from a point of view of an expert dissenter on the topic. The author makes the case that strong first world countries, and international organizations (IMF, World Bank, and WTO) controlled by them, often set rules of free trade which ostensibly are fair, but actually favor the first world countries. And moreover, these rules were deliberately ignored by the same countries during the decades or centuries of their own economic development. The arguments are supported with very informative footnotes and references. The author is an economist who grew up in South Korea while South Korea was growing from a very poor country to an industrial power. His description of Korea then and now is one of the most interesting parts of the book. The last two chapters - on democracy and economics, and on culture and economics - are the most subjective, in my opinion. However, the opinions are informative and well supported with references.If you think economics is dismal and dry, you are correct. But this book overcomes both of those faults.
    • 5/5
      Finally, some facts and empirics on globalization, trade and development. This is a book I wish I'd read when I took my economics and international trade courses. Chang shows that the neo-liberal free-trade agenda is based on assumptions and beliefs that in fact do not reflect reality. He shows in detail how those countries that did improve their relative position and are now economically developed - the US, UK, Finland, Japan, South Korea - and those developing countries that are doing the best - including China - are those that ignore the neoliberal strictures. All these countries practiced some forms of protectionism, none of them followed the neo-liberal line. Chang makes a good argument that following neoliberalism is the surest way to remain underdeveloped and poor. Chang is not against trade, and shows how it does help countries develop. He's just against the neoliberal version because it prevents development.This book should be required reading for anyone interested in international trade. It won't change the mind of the true believers - who seem to see neoliberalism as some religious faith - but for most people it'll be an interesting and much needed addition to our understanding of trade and development.