It’s not too good to not be true

The economic interpretation of history is a powerful seduction. It’s allure rises when the dismal science is used to explain current events. Guy Sorman does not disappoint in Economics Does Not Lie.

Economics Does Not Lie

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Guy Sorman

full circle

n R495 n pp 372

The economic interpretation of history is a powerful seduction. It’s allure rises when the dismal science is used to explain current events. Guy Sorman does not disappoint in Economics Does Not Lie. The breadth of this work is breathtaking — a fireside tale of the rise and fall of modern economies. Sorman, who has taught economics in Paris, written for The Wall Street Journal, and advised the president of South Korea, begins with the basic question why some countries are rich and not others and comes to the conclusion that institutions, more than geography or culture, make them so. Coming at a time when capitalism is introspecting on its future, Sorman’s contribution to the debate will not be out of place in most capitals of the world. Accordingly, there is no alternative to a rule of law and a respect for property. No matter what means these ideas took to reach the ends of the world, democracy and capitalism ought to see a convergence of living standards across our planet.

Any case for capitalism, however well argued, suffers from a central paradox: if indeed there is one true god, why does the mankind lose its faith ever so often? Sorman, like the rest of the orthodoxy, argues these crises help to clear the path. Read the latest defence of the invisible hand to see if you are convinced.