The second session of the Intellectual Interaction Meetings, titled "The Rise and Fall of Nations: Causes and Consequences - A Discussion in the Context of Daron Acemoglu's The Fall of Nations" was held on Tuesday, February 25th, from 14:30 to 16:30 at the Ömer Faruk Harman Conference Hall (ITBF).
The event, which began with an opening speech by Prof. Hasan Vergil and was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Özgün Burak Kamacı, featured speakers Assoc. Prof. Adem Levent and Assist Prof. Sinan Ataer. The closing speech of the program was delivered by our President, Prof. Atilla Arkan.
The main focus of the session was the book "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty," written by Daron Acemoğlu and James A. Robinson and published in 2012. The discussion centered on the book's contributions to the field of economics and its criticisms. As emphasized by our President, Prof. Atilla Arkan, in his closing remarks, the aim of the Intellectual Interaction Meetings is to contribute to critical thinking. The work, which also won the Nobel Prize in 2024, explores the fundamental reasons behind the economic success or failure of nations, arguing that these differences are largely dependent on the structure of institutions.
The session addressed hypotheses about the rise and fall of nations and the reasons for income disparities between countries, focusing on the question, "Why are some countries rich while others are poor?" The hypotheses discussed included:
The "Institutions Hypothesis" helps us understand the reasons beyond the indicators, addressing questions like what can prevent the collapse of nations and what policies are needed for stable development.
The session’s moderator, Assoc. Prof. Özgün Burak Kaymakçı (Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics, Division of Economic Policy), also touched upon Acemoğlu's other works, particularly "The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty," discussing the concept of the narrow corridor. He highlighted the significant historical references and bibliography provided by Acemoğlu's co-author, which added value to the book. Kaymakçı noted that "Why Nations Fail" is not the first work of its kind in economics, citing Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" as an important precursor and reference for this work. His contributions during the presentations and his general evaluations after the presentations opened new horizons for the audience.
Assoc. Prof. Adem Levent (Bursa Uludağ University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economic History) provided a panorama of the history of economic thought, emphasizing the patterns that make one nation richer or poorer than another, the concept of "commercial society" used by Adam Smith, and Smith's avoidance of terms like capitalism or economics. He highlighted Smith's role as a significant figure of the Scottish Enlightenment and a moral philosopher, referencing his book "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," the differences between the Scottish and French Enlightenments, terms like "sympathy," his book "History of Astronomy," and the 19th-century German criticisms of Smith (Das Adam Smith Problem) and sociological debates. Levent also discussed the transformation of economics into political economy, noting that Smith explained the wealth of nations through "industry," emphasizing its connection to production. He also addressed metaphysics, its categories and misuse, the use and criticisms of neoclassical economics, and mentioned figures like Thorstein Veblen and Ernst Jünger.
Assist Prof. Sinan Ataer (Istanbul Medeniyet University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Finance) explained that Acemoğlu did not present a completely original theory in his book, criticized Hayek, but overlooked issues like who holds power while criticizing Hayek. He also discussed the importance of causal inferences in articles and what the book tells us and does not tell us, using examples.
The discussion also touched upon Fukuyama's book “Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity,” concepts of rationality by Hume and Weber, the long-standing perception of economics as a "man's job" until the rise of feminism and gender studies, the objectivity of the Nobel Prize and its journey in the field of economics, historical inaccuracies in the book, and reductionism from an ontological perspective, among other topics raised through contributions and questions at the end of the discussion.
In conclusion, the discussion highlighted the main criticism of Acemoğlu and Robinson's book, which is that it has a Eurocentric perspective, overlooking the fact that the world is not composed of a single civilization, and that the historical conclusions reached ignore many aspects. The discussion was linked to Nietzsche's statement "God is dead!" and its underlying meanings, as well as the emergence of "Homo-economicus," before the floor was given to our President, Prof. Atilla Arkan, for the closing remarks.
Our President, Prof. Atilla Arkan, emphasized that the purpose of these events is to discuss various topics with researchers from different fields of social sciences, to understand the world we live in with intellectual accumulation, and to provide good criticism. He also contributed to the discussed issues from a philosophical perspective, noting that power is multi-layered, encompassing the development of the economy, industry, and defense industry, and that history is cannot be reduced to a few pages. He expressed his gratitude to the audience, speakers, and those who contributed to the event, stating that the Intellectual Interaction Meetings will continue in the future and looking forward to seeing everyone at the next events.
