Book review: Saints and Sinners

The difference between some countries that enjoy economic growth and others that seem doomed to endless poverty and chaos is the heart of “Saints and Sinners”, an interesting book that looks at almost 30 different countries and how they managed to deal (or fail) with the twin evils of conflict and corruption, before it goes on to look at the benefits of democracy, the importance of a good relationship with the superpowers, and how some succeeded in developing successful economies.

As the author, Ali Mahmoud is not particularly wedded to democracy as an essential condition for economic success. He quotes Aristotle as being absolutely right 2,000 years ago when he said that “It is better for a city to be governed by good men than by good laws”. And he relishes Winston Churchill’s comment that “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter”.

He also enjoys some of the more bizarre results of extreme governance — for example, pointing out that when General Abacha of Nigeria had to organise a multiparty election, he made sure that all five parties contesting the election put up Abacha as its candidate.

Mahmoud’s analysis is at its most interesting when reviewing the sad tales of the dangers and long-term impact of conflict in countries such as Algerian, Sierra Leone, Angola, Iraq and Yugoslavia, and the deeply enervating effects of endemic corruption in several countries in Africa, along with Iraq, Russia, China and India.

As he reviews the countries that found economic prosperity, Mahmoud places great importance on role of their leadership, and writes about Dubai that it “lacked natural resources and had very little oil, but it did have the advantage of two extraordinary rulers, Shaikh Rashid and much later his son Shaikh Mohammad”. Mahmoud sums up the clarity of Shaikh Rashid’s vision for commerce in a quote: “If a person lands in Dubai, he will take a taxi, buy a packet of cigarettes, have a meal, and we will all benefit.”

“Saints and Sinners” was written after the financial crash hit Dubai, and it includes a brief summary of the hectic period, of how the city took the essential steps to restructure itself. At the end of the chapter on Dubai, Mahmoud concludes that the emirate has weathered the crash and that despite the gold rush being over, Dubai is an outstanding example of what can be achieved in a short time by a determined leadership. “Dubai is a city state with little natural advantage that has through the quality of its governance outperformed other countries”, he writes.

One of the highlights of “Saints and Sinners” is the bibliography and list of websites accessed, which offer the curious reader the chance to follow Mahmoud’s trails and check out his wide research into so many disparate examples of national failure and success.

Inevitably, in such a compendium of governance, there is a lot for a reader to disagree with, but part of the charm of “Saints and Sinners” is that disagreement does not lead to disparagement, and Mahmoud’s quick gallop through the byways of failure and success is one which will stay on the shelves.

Saints and Sinners

Why some countries grow rich and other don’t

By Ali Mahmoud,

HarperCollins, 348 pages, $49.75