In 'The Tyranny of Experts', William Easterly critiques the modern development aid industry, revealing how well-meaning interventions often miss the mark. He argues that the focus on expert-driven solutions disregards the voices and needs of the people they aim to help. Through insightful anecdotes and rigorous analysis, Easterly challenges the efficacy of top-down approaches in tackling poverty and inequality. The book invites readers to reconsider the role of local knowledge and empowerment in creating sustainable change. Ultimately, it raises the provocative question: can we truly solve complex global problems without listening to those most affected?
By William Easterly
Published: 2015
""True change comes not from a blueprint made by distant experts, but from the voices and choices of those who live in the shadows of our assumptions.""
"Bracingly iconoclastic." --New York Times Book Review In The Tyranny of Experts, renowned economist William Easterly examines our failing efforts to fight global poverty, and argues that the "expert approved" top-down approach to development has not only made little lasting progress, but has proven a convenient rationale for decades of human rights violations perpetrated by colonialists, postcolonial dictators, and US and UK foreign policymakers seeking autocratic allies. Demonstrating how our traditional antipoverty tactics have both trampled the freedom of the world's poor and suppressed a vital debate about alternative approaches to solving poverty, Easterly presents a devastating critique of the blighted record of authoritarian development. In this masterful work, Easterly reveals the fundamental errors inherent in our traditional approach and offers new principles for Western agencies and developing countries alike: principles that, because they are predicated on respect for the rights of poor people, have the power to end global poverty once and for all.
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“"True change comes not from a blueprint made by distant experts, but from the voices and choices of those who live in the shadows of our assumptions."”
The Tyranny of Experts
By William Easterly
Discover a world of knowledge through our extensive collection of book summaries.
William Easterly is an influential economist and author known for his critical stance on foreign aid and development economics. His notable works include 'The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics,' 'Aid Effective?', and 'The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor.' Easterly’s writing style is characterized by its engaging narrative and a strong emphasis on empirical evidence, often blending personal anecdotes with rigorous analysis to challenge prevailing development strategies and advocate for the rights of the poor.
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