telebookstall

Why do nations fail? I skimmed through this book. It states well that the arrival of "creative destruction," the emergence of "critical periods," and the role of some "contingent factors" can lead the "inclusive political and economic system" towards a "virtuous cycle." However, the book does not believe that any method is a quick fix. When discussing how to "empower," it mentions that "the most honest answer is that there is no secret formula." Because history is full of contingencies. As Yi Zhongtian mentioned in his history of China, "In fact, due to the opening of the Silk Road, the Han and Tang dynasties were already moving towards a second path, establishing a civilization that was also global. Therefore, the disconnection with the Western Regions after the An Lushan Rebellion is indeed unfortunate. Fortunately, when the East is not bright, the West is bright; the Maritime Silk Road offers us new possibilities. If we could become a maritime empire, still multicultural, what kind of prospect would that be?" This discussion is eager to propose countermeasures, but individuals and groups are simply not on the same level. We can only do our part and leave the rest to fate. "Fate" is elusive and unchangeable, so I do not care about it. What I care about is "human affairs." Therefore, in the face of the rise and fall of groups, the first step is what can we do? This discussion consistently adheres to objectivism; individual power is about how to empower and how to possess power. If we say that the power defined by laws, morals, and various norms is "nominal," then individual power is a more "real" concept. It does not care about so-called "freedom rights" in human rights, nor about "legal rights" under democratic systems, and is even indifferent to "state violence" under dictatorship... What it cares about is merely the actual changes and comparisons of power in all things. — Individual power In "Why Nations Fail," when discussing how to empower, three key factors are mentioned: a certain degree of centralization; a small amount of political pluralism; civil society institutions; and media. None of these are personal countermeasures. The only thing we can do is to raise our voices to a certain extent in the age of social media. In fact, enhancing individual strength is natural and can happen in an instant. Actually, enhancing individual power is not a difficult thing. Strengthening the body is the most primitive way to improve; being knowledgeable allows us to leverage external forces and achieve great distances; forming groups can grant us powers beyond individual reach. As for life as power, it is merely a backdoor that allows us to realize that anything is possible, though we may not be that life. For example, a person develops from an embryo, to a fetus with differentiated reproductive organs, to a soon-to-be-born fetus, to a crawling baby, to a speaking baby, to a school-going child, to a mating teenager, to a fully mature adult, and finally to an elderly person in twilight... Individual power varies at each stage. Growth is inherently a method of enhancing individual power. Individual power means that every action and every thought we have changes this world, even if such changes may seem insignificant to others. But individual power is captivating; as long as you are changing, individual power is also changing. But remember, personal initiative is limited; what we can do is what we are currently doing. The rest is left to the heavens.