The Hillsdale Interview: Rainer Zitelmann

Rainer Zitelmann joins Moira Gleason on WRFH to discuss his new book How Nations Escape Poverty: Vietnam, Poland, and the Origins of Prosperity.

In his book, Rainer Zitelmann identifies the reasons behind the sensational growth of both nations’ economies, drawing out the lessons that other countries can learn from these two success stories. To explain the source of their success, he returns to Adam Smith’s 1776 treatise, The Wealth of Nations: the only way to overcome poverty is through economic growth, Smith wrote, and economic freedom is the crucial prerequisite for such growth.