Overview

"During the 20th century, Vietnam and Poland were both victims not only of devastating wars, but also of socialist planned economies that destroyed whatever war hadn't already. In 1990, Vietnam was still one of the poorest countries in the world, while Poland was one of the poorest in Europe. But in the three decades since then, both countries have drastically improved their citizens' standards of living and escaped the vicious cycle of national poverty. In this book, Rainer Zitelmann identifies the reasons behind the sensational growth of both nations' economies, drawing out the lessons that other countries can learn from these two success stories. To explain the source of their success, he returns to Adam Smith's 1776 treatise, The Wealth of Nations: the only way to overcome poverty is through economic growth, Smith wrote, and economic freedom is the crucial prerequisite for such growth. Developments over the past 250 years have proved Smith right. The market economy has led to a global decline in poverty unparalleled in human history. Compare this to the fifty years of ""development aid"" in Africa that have only entrenched the status quo, and it is clear which approach yields superior results. Despite these strides, almost tenpercent of the world's population still lives in extreme poverty. So, what measures actually help to alleviate poverty today? Through a wealth of data and stories from the everyday lives of Polish and Vietnamese people who experienced reforms, Zitelmann demonstrates the persistent relevance of Smith's ideas to economic flourishing in the 21st century."

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9781641773959

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Reviews

Blurbs, How Nations Escape Poverty   “Read this brilliant, highly readable, inspiring book before the woke cancel culture hears about it! The astonishing tales told here about the miraculous transformation of two seemingly disparate nations—Poland and Vietnam—from socialist sinkholes of misery into vibrant, prosperous, opportunity-rich economies resoundingly reaffirm the truth of the positive, inclusive power of free markets. This book couldn’t be more timely in today’s troubled world.” Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief, Forbes   “Many great libertarian thinkers were economists or philosophers. Zitelmann is a historian and sociologist. He does not argue theoretically, but empirically. In his book, he shows that development aid and redistribution do not eliminate poverty, but private property, entrepreneurship, and capitalism do.” John Mackey, co-founder, Whole Foods Markets    “Anti-capitalists believe that the economy is a zero-sum game. They want to help the poor by taking money away from the rich. They want to help poor countries through development aid. Based on scientific studies, Zitelmann shows that this concept has never worked. But as soon as people are given more economic freedom, their standard of living improves dramatically, as Zitelmann demonstrates through the examples of Poland and Vietnam. Capitalism is so effective that even a few drops of it can work wonders. What miracles would only be possible with real capitalism?” Jennifer Grossman, CEO, Atlas Society   “Public intellectuals in relatively free economies have crippled poor nations struggling to rebuild after years of socialism by lying to the world about how jobs and wealth are created. A powerful and needed antidote to the lies of the self-hating academics is Dr. Rainer Zitelmann's new book examining and highlighting the success of Poland and Vietnam emerging from imposed economic statism. The model that built the modern West can also rebuild those nations enslaved during the Cold War: property rights, low tax and regulatory regimes, open trade and limited government.” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform   “One of the most exciting developments over the last quarter-century has been the revival of social and economic freedom in both Eastern Europe and Asia. Zitelmann’s case studies show how they did it, and what other countries need to do to enjoy a similar revival.” Eamonn Butler, director, the Adam Smith Institute, London   “Imparting surprises on every page, even for sophisticated theorists of capitalism, Zitelmann’s book makes a major new contribution to the wealth of nations.”  George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty   “This book reminds us with unimpeachable data that economic freedom is the key to prosperity and socialism is the best path to despair. The paradox is why so many young people are taught and believe exactly the opposite. We might as well be teaching them that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.” Stephen Moore, senior economist, The Heritage Foundation   “Rainer Zitelmann has been one of the most prolific and effective defenders of free enterprise for many years. In his new book, Zitelmann details the political and economic reforms that turned once poor and stagnating communist basket cases of Vietnam and Poland into fast-growing economies whose people enjoy much improved standards of living. It should be read by would-be reformers everywhere.” Marian Tupy, senior fellow, the Cato Institute, and founder of HumanProgress.org   “Capitalism has lacked a unifying public figure since Milton Friedman left the building in 2006. Now, there is, at long last, a worthy candidate for Friedman’s rightful successor. I praise Dr. Rainer Zitelmann as the reigning public intellectual champion of capitalism. With his book How Nations Escape Poverty, he proves once again that as a historian and sociologist he has followed in the footsteps of the greatest freedom thinkers.” Ralph Benko, co-author of The Capitalist Manifesto and co-founder and chairman of the Capitalist League   “Billionaires usually get a bad press, but Rainer Zitelmann shows in his outstanding new book that economic growth takes off when free markets permit them to create new products and encourage other people to emulate them. As Adam Smith long ago argued, economic growth is the key to ending poverty. Zitelmann documents his thesis to the hilt through detailed accounts of the economies of Poland and Vietnam. The book is a magnificent achievement.” David Gordon, senior fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute, and editor of the Journal of Libertarian Studies        

Author Information

"Rainer Zitelmann (1957) studied history and political science and graduated with distinction. In 1986, he was awarded a doctorate in philosophy for his thesis Hitler's National SocialismThe study, which was awarded the grade ""summa cum laude,"" received worldwide attention and recognition. From 1987 to 1992, Zitelmann worked at the Central Institute for Social Science Research at the Free University of Berlin. He then became editor in chief of Ullstein-Propylen publishing house, at that time Germany's third-largest publishing group, and headed various departments of the German daily newspaper Die Welt. In 2000, he set up his own business, Dr. ZitelmannPB, GmbH, which has since become leading PR agency for real estate companies in Germany. He sold the business in 2016. In 2016, Zitelmann was awarded his second doctorate, this time in sociology, with his thesis on the psychology of the super-rich, The Wealth Elite. Zitelmann has written and edited a total of 28 books, which have achieved substantial success in more than 30 languages around the world. He is a much sought-after guest speaker in Asia, the United States, South America and Europe. Over the last few years, he has written articles and given interviews to many of the world's leading media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Times, the Daily Telegraph, Forbes, Newsweek,Le Monde, Corriere della Serra, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Spiegel, Neue Zrcher Zeitung, and numerous media in Asia and Latin America."

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