Kicking Away the Ladder summary

Britain’s naval fleet ruled the waters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, marking the small island’s status in world trade.

How did this little, cold and wet island achieve such economic standing? As with the United States, the answer lies in the country’s adoption of protectionism.

Why do you think some countries are rich and others poor?

The reason, according to many people, is because certain wealthy and more powerful countries are able to use their position to exploit and impoverish the others.

What do you think makes a country prosperous?

Many will argue, democracy. It seems obvious: A huge proportion of the world’s most successful economies are democratic. Therefore, democracy must be a key factor, right? However, looking back into the past you can see that the link between democracy and economic development is unclear.

How would you feel if, after spending your entire life building up a prosperous business, the government claimed it?

It’s very unlikely that you would make the mistake of building a business again and society would lose its entrepreneurial spirit.

Certain working practices seem diabolically inhumane: forced 15-hour work days and child labor are two, for example.

As a result, governments, charities and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) work to ensure a world free of such inhumane practices. However, although exploiting workers is condemned now, in the past it was not the case.

So we should now realize that the currently developing nations have to approach economic development in different ways than the NDCs did.

However, rather than something which we bemoan, we can view this challenge as a positive change. In fact, the majority of developing nations are currently far more “developed” than their Western counterparts were at the same stage in their development.