This book by Niall Ferguson (a Brit) has the subtitle “How Institutions Decay and Economies Die.” The title and the subtitle tell you that this is not a book with a happy ending. I had trouble reading the book, but recommend it to people who are interesting in economics and the history of important writers who have analyzed economics. I’m not in that camp, but I still worked my way through the book and decided it has value. My suggestion is that you shouldn’t pick up this book if you want light reading or a clear picture of what must be done to solve the degeneration of the U.S. economy. The problems are clearly presented in the dust cover. “Symptoms of decline are all around us today:  slowing growth, crushing debt, increasing inequality, aging population, antisocial behavior.” The author says these problems are caused by degeneration of institutions, and presents evidence to back up his conclusion. However, I was frustrated with the lack of solutions. My reaction was something like, “It is inevitable. Deal with it!”

I suggest that anyone not interested in economic theory skip the lengthy discussions of famed economists such as Smith and Tocqueville. I don’t suggest that those two brilliant men and the many others referenced in the book don’t have valid and fascinating theories. What I do suggest is that I was looking for something more, which came in the last of the book. I thought the best of the book came in a subsection of Chapter 4 titled, “Clearing the Beach.” The author bought a home on the coast of South Wales to be beside the sea, but the coastline was “…hideously strewn with rubbish. Thousands of plastic bottles littered the sand and rocks.” The additional descriptions of trash are quite disgusting. The author learned that offshore dumping of trash was beyond the control of government. He began a volunteer effort to clean the beach, but the result was quite “modest.” The local branch of the Lions club became interested, and they “…brought a level of motivation …that far exceeded my earlier improvised efforts.” What had been outside the control of government was, no surprise here, solved by the efforts of concerned citizens organized by a private club.

The sad facts presented by the book are that the effective results of organizations such as the Lions Club have degenerated. Page 117 gives results in the decline in attendance at public meetings, membership in parent-teacher associations, and other similar association in other private organizations that have been effective at solving difficult problems. I was less interested in the decline in membership in UK voluntary organizations, but you might be more interested if you are in the UK.

There are short but interesting references to how social media has had an influence on social unrest. My personal observation is that social media has had a massive influence on arranging protests. The book observes that “…just how far Google or Facebook really played a decisive role in the Arab Spring is debatable. (After all, Libyans did more than just unfriend Colonel Gaddafi.)”

I recommend the Conclusion. It gets to the point of discussing why some countries are richer than others, to include “…purchasing power parity…” for workers. The discussion of “income inequality” is startling. “Between 1933 and 1973 the average real income of the 99 percent rose (before tax) by a factor of four and a half. Yet from 1973 until 2010 it actually fell.”

How far are we from an “Arab Spring” of our own? It is explained that revolutions “…are caused by a combination of food–price spikes, a youthful population, a rising middle class, a disruptive ideology, a corrupt old regime, and a weakening of international order.” I see several of those elements in our current situation.

There are possible positive signs that countries can grow their way out of debt with technological innovation. However, the book suggests it is quite difficult to achieve high growth when there is a heavy debt burden. Our current leaders seem to believe we should add to the debt burden to achieve “social justice.” In addition, President Obama gave a major policy speech in July 2012 that seemed to demean individual innovation. He said about people who have built successful businesses, “If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that.” The author presents the opinion that statement represents the “…authentic voice of the stationary (not growing) state…” The author also mentions that President Obama’s second inaugural addresses did not mention the words “debt” or “deficit.”  “The dangers of excessive regulation and litigation were ignored. …we the people is now synonymous with ‘the government.” Scary!