In contrast, people living under extractive institutions often consider their political leaders illegitimate because they recognize that these leaders neither want nor try to represent the people’s best interests. This explains why Tswana leaders could go to London and legitimately negotiate with the British on behalf of their people. The most important of these events was the Industrial Revolution, which started in 18th century England and quickly spread around. Because they were both centralized and pluralistic, Tswana institutions were inclusive. In Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson suggest that a few historical eventsor critical juncturesplayed outsized roles in shaping the long-term trajectory of global economic development. But they’re also centralized because they make effective decisions on a collective basis, then implement those decisions in a relatively fair way. Traditional Tswana institutions are pluralistic because they let different groups voice their concerns in government and give ultimate power to the people as a whole, and not to the leader. The authors have frequently emphasized that most of sub-Saharan Africa lacked centralized institutions on the eve of colonization, in large part because of conflict and the slave trade. The Tswana chiefs’ visit to London was remarkable, and not just because they were asking to be colonized (which they viewed as the lesser of two evils).
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