The Tyranny of Experts
| Author | William Easterly |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Development Economics |
| Publisher | Basic Books |
|
Publication date
|
March 4, 2014, February on Kindle |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN |
The Tyranny of Experts is a 2014 book by the development economist William Easterly arguing that there are no silver bullets for promoting economic development and that the best hope is to support economic, political, and personal freedom worldwide. The book is similar to Easterly's earlier books on economic development, The Elusive Quest for Growth and The White Man's Burden.
Shortly after the release of the book, Easterly wrote an article for Foreign Policy summarizing the key arguments of the book.
Easterly also wrote an op-ed for Seattle Times describing the themes of his book, and taking issue with the approach used by Bill Gates to fight poverty.
Dalibor Rohac reviewed the book favorably for The Umlaut, writing, "There are no silver-bullet solutions to poverty and underdevelopment. Instead of trying to find them, policymakers ought to simply respect individual rights—including the rights of poor people."Clive Crook also reviewed the book favorably for Bloomberg View.
Publishers Weekly published a critical review of the book, concluding, "This loose, sometimes incoherent collection of high-minded notes does not add up to a convincing thesis or argument. Easterly tries to craft global solutions, but fails to come up with practical proposals that will work in the messy world beyond his neighborhood."
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Chayes was also critical: "Mr. Easterly calls for a profound overhaul of the way powerful nations conceive of and implement aid—and, more important, of the broader foreign-policy decision-making of which aid is a component. That change is needed. It's just not clear this book is crisp or cogent enough to help advance it."
Kirkus Reviews described the book more neutrally, with the concluding sentence: "A sharply written polemic intended to stir up debate about the aims of global anti-poverty campaigns."
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Wikipedia