Experts often cause tyranny in society. Be cautious, let markets work.

​Here's my review of the book. 

The Tyranny of Experts by William Easterly highlights the failure of "experts" to improve economic development such that poverty is reduced and prosperity takes hold. It is a nice complement to the book Why Nation's Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson that discusses the importance of economic and political institutions for economic development, especially inclusive versus extractive institutions.

The underlying theme of Easterly's book, and Acemoglu and Robinson, in my opinion, is Hayek's "knowledge problem" whereby a select group of people do not have all available information nor efficient price signals no matter how many experts. Too often, these experts call for more government intervention (extractive institutions) that further distorts market activity and leads to distorted prices that lead to worse outcomes, or at least no better outcomes.

Instead, economic development should be driven by market-related factors that starts with private property rights and the rule of law (inclusive institutions) that provide the necessary conditions for economic prosperity and freedom to thrive. Easterly does a great job of explaining this with multiple historical examples.

Ultimately, ending the practices of technocrats and autocracies, and the like, will go a long way towards improving the lives of everyone, especially the poor.Here's my review of the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1164115885?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1