Bad Samaritans

In 'Bad Samaritans,' Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang launches a frontal assault on the orthodox narrative of globalization and free trade. He argues that the prosperous West has effectively 'kicked away the ladder' it used to climb to wealth, now compelling developing nations to adopt policies of open markets and deregulation that it never used during its own ascent. The book positions itself as a contrarian history, challenging the fairy tale of neoliberal development propagated by institutions like the WTO and thinkers like Thomas Friedman.

Chang meticulously dismantles this orthodoxy by examining the actual historical record of today's rich nations. He demonstrates that strategic protectionism, state-led industrial policy, and the deliberate infringement of intellectual property were standard practice for Britain, the United States, Germany, and his native South Korea. The book delves into case studies, showing how tariffs nurtured infant industries and how state-owned enterprises played crucial roles in technological leaps. It contrasts this historical reality with the damaging results of the 'Washington Consensus' policies imposed on Latin America, Africa, and post-Soviet economies.

The narrative further critiques sacred cows like the absolute sanctity of patents, arguing they slow technological diffusion, and challenges the dogma of inflation targeting and capital account liberalization. Chang employs a lucid, often witty style, using accessible analogies—like comparing developed countries to 'Bad Samaritans' who refuse to lend the ladder they themselves used—to make complex economic arguments clear to a general audience.

Ultimately, the book is a manifesto for policy space and intellectual honesty in development economics. It is targeted at readers skeptical of globalization's promised benefits, students of political economy, and policymakers in the developing world. Chang's work insists that economic development is not a mechanistic process governed by universal rules, but a political journey that requires tools currently denied to the global poor.

The readership celebrates Chang's accessible demolition of free-market dogma, praising his use of historical fact over abstract theory as profoundly eye-opening. Critics, while few, occasionally find his tone overly polemical or argue he oversimplifies complex adversaries. The consensus is that the book serves as an essential, persuasive corrective to mainstream economic narratives, valued for its clarity and contrarian punch.