Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
What are the positions on why nations fail?
Position‹3 of 4›

A non-pluralistic state that does not guarantee the rule of law

On this view the decisive failure is legal rather than economic: proponents argue that where the state is not pluralistic and the law is applied unevenly, no commitment is credible, so exchange and investment shrink to what trust alone can carry.

Supporting arguments · 2

  1. Where law is applied unevenly, exchange shrinks to what trust can carry
  2. If nothing constrains the powerful, no commitment they make is credible