A Book Review on The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoğlu and James A. Robinson

Review of Economic Perspectives. 2020. Vol. 20. No. 3. P. 403–405.

Alatas S.

Liberty has two important components: the state and society. It is, however, neither granted by just the state nor just the society. It rather emerges and flourishes only when both of them coexist and balance each other out. In The Narrow Corridor: States, Socie-ties, and the Fate of Liberty, Acemoglu and Robinson discuss this state-society relation-ship and its importance to achieving liberty. To this end, they provide a comprehensive framework to address the questions of where liberty comes from, why only some socie-ties are able to achieve liberty, while others are not, and what the possible outcomes of liberty are especially in terms of prosperity. The main argument of the authors is that both state and society should be strong and run together as the evolution of the state-society relationship over time is directly connected to the emergence of liberty, and an imbalance between them is detrimental to it. A strong state is required to resolve con-flicts by enforcing laws, guarantee the rights of its citizens, and provide public services. A strong and vigilant society, in turn, acts collectively, participates in politics, and con-trols the state to promote liberty. For that purpose, they build a new theory about liberty and support their ideas by providing examples from world history, including China in the 1950s, the Nazi regime in Germany, recent conflicts in the Middle East, state-building efforts of Athenians and Americans, and experiences of many Latin American countries.

Keywords: liberty, Society, states