In the 90s there was a proselytising novel called Left Behind that was very popular in American evangelical circles, all about how the faithful would be raptured into heaven as the planet collapsed behind them. This is not that book. This is about Paul Collier’s Left Behind, an altogether more useful book that might make a difference in the here and now.
Collier is an economics professor in Oxford and a specialist in development. I’ve reviewed his previous books Plundered Planet and The Bottom Billion, and what I appreciate about Collier’s work is that he directs his attention to the margins. There are more economists working on making the wealthy richer than there are solving the problems of entrenched poverty. Collier has focused on poverty traps, power imbalances, and how to build up fragile democracies and institutions.
In this new book he draws lessons from a variety of ‘left behind’ places in the global north and the south, comparing and contrasting approaches to find what works. How can a downward spiral be interrupted and reversed? What makes the critical difference?
Building prosperity and restoring hope in left behind places matters to everyone, not just the people who live there. As Collier describes in the opening chapters, it was votes from neglected regions and overlooked constituents that gave the world Brexit and Trump. Those at margins made themselves heard, but without securing any tangible gains. “That angry frustration of the left behind induces many of their voters to oppose the expressed priorities of the successful regardless of the consequences for themselves.”
The book doesn’t dwell too long on the problems. “The overall message of Left Behind is joyful: communities long left behind can catch up”, writes Collier. From Singapore we can see how strong local leadership can begin a process of ‘spiralling up’. In Rwanda we read about inclusive land reform and a strategy to build a tourist industry from nothing. Bangladesh offers a model for financing development from within, Basque Spain is a case study in cooperative business, and Quaker business in the English Midlands shows how technological innovation can come from the margins too. “Modest people can nonetheless ignite processes as inspiring as any claimed by the greatest leaders.”
In these examples we see approaches tailored to local needs, rather than economic dogma dictated from afar. We see a focus on inclusive prosperity and participation. And we see agency rather than dependence and external control. For those outside of left behind regions, it’s important to recognise their role as supporters, not rescuers.
One of the strengths of Left Behind is that broad range of examples from across the world, and the argument that good ideas can come from anywhere. Countries like the UK have as much – maybe more at this point – to learn from success stories in the global south as they have to learn from us. That’s not something you hear very often. After the empty promises of the ‘levelling up’ agenda, Britain’s incoming government – especially the Treasury – should have Left Behind on their reading list.
- Left Behind is available from Earthbound Books UK now and in the US in August.
The Earthbound Report 
Sounds like a great book, I am interested, and will try to get a copy