Countries are poor not because their people are lazy; their people are 'lazy' because they are poor.
Ha-Joon ChangDemocracy and markets are both fundamental building blocks for a decent society. But they clash at a fundamental level. We need to balance them.
Ha-Joon ChangA well-designed welfare state can actually encourage people to take chances with their jobs and be more, not less, open to changes.
Ha-Joon ChangThe widely accepted assertion that, only if you let markets be will everyone be paid correctly and thus fairly, according to his worth, is a myth. Only when we part with this myth and grasp the political nature of the market and the collective nature of individual productivity will we be able to build a more just society in which historical legacies and collective actions, and not just individual talents and efforts, are properly taken into account in deciding how to reward people.
Ha-Joon Chang