Global economics and the biblical theology may seem like strange bedfellows, but economist Barry Asmus and theologian Wayne Grudem—who also has an undergraduate degree in economics—attempt to bring them together. In The Poverty of Nations, they do an admirable job of melding together these two dissimilar disciplines, but also fall short in a couple critical areas.
First, the good. Grudem, author of the widely used Systematic Theology and general editor of the ESV Study Bible, lays out a comprehensive overview of the benefits of a free-market system. As one would expect, it is a very organized overview—even to the point of utilizing an alpha-numeric outline system that I found somewhat taxing. However, I appreciate the effort this must have required.
I also appreciated the historical context provided by the authors for why many countries struggle today with economic prosperity. It was interesting hearing how Japan closed its seaports in the 1600s, and how Botswana ended up with a beneficial monarchy at a critical time to avoid the poverty trap many African nations fell victim to. These stories and others offered some helpful perspective.
Now, the bad. It’s possibly un-avoidable with a book this ambitious, but I found The Poverty of Nations to be simplistic to an almost irresponsible degree. Assuming that a leader of a developing nation were to actually read this book (which seems unlikely even though that is an alleged target audience) they would gain little in the way of actionable ideas for how to turn their nation’s economy around. And, while the sections on property ownership and individual liberty were very insightful, the sections on environmental resources and taxation were terrifically simplistic.
Conspicuously missing is really any discussion of the “how” of turning a poor country’s economy around. Where are the stories and the ideas for implementation to put legs on these concepts? What about the micro-finance revolution? Or the ingenious use of smart phones to empower farmers in Western Africa? Or efforts to harness wind and hydroelectric power in order to reinvigorate small villages in the hilly terrain of Afghanistan? There are innumerable stories out there of what promoting a free-market economy and basic human rights could look like on the ground level. This book works well as a defense of a free-market economy, and even as a synthesis of biblical morality and macro-economics, but offers little else.
And who is this book for exactly? The authors indicate that this is a book for world leaders, but it seems more suited for the seminary classroom. In all likelihood, a Christian leader in a developed nation is going to be reading this text as part of a curriculum on cross-cultural studies. Is it actually going to help them help the struggling nations of the world find prosperity? That’s hard to say, but a seminary student from the States is going to have far less clout to change a struggling African nation’s outlook than the president of said nation will have. So there is much confusion on who should be reading this.
In my opinion, this could be a helpful book for those considering cross-cultural ministry to read to help them understand why rich nations are rich and poor nations are poor. Pastors could also benefit from reading this book, since it directly addresses some myths about the Bible and economics that are regularly expounded from the pulpit. Neither pastors nor missionaries are going to find their passion for the poor of this world rekindled by this book. It’s not an inspiring call to action, but rather a descriptive, systematic treatment of free-market libertarianism and its roots in the biblical account. Just be aware what you’re getting in to from the beginning.
Ray Porter does a great job on the narration of the audiobook version.
Please Note: This audiobook was gifted as a part of the Christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work. More information can be found about this and other Christian audiobooks at christianaudio.com.