AUSGABE 173 (Kurioses und Übersehenes: Randnotizen des Jahres 2024)

The New York Trilogy consists of three novels: 'City of Glass', 'Ghosts', and 'The Locked Room'. Each story delves into metaphysical and philosophical themes, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. 'City of Glass' follows a detective fiction writer who becomes embroiled in a mysterious case, exploring layers of identity and reality. 'Ghosts' is about a private eye investigating a man named Black, which leads to a loss of self. 'The Locked Room' tells the story of a writer who publishes his childhood friend's work after the friend's disappearance, raising questions about creativity and identity. The trilogy is characterized by its open-ended endings and the theme of 'learning to live with ambiguity'[3][4][5].

Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue that the success or failure of nations is determined by their political and economic institutions. They present a comprehensive theory based on 15 years of research, using historical examples from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, the Soviet Union, and various other regions to demonstrate how inclusive institutions foster economic growth and prosperity, while extractive institutions lead to poverty and stagnation. The authors discuss critical questions such as China's economic growth, the future of the United States, and the most effective ways to help countries move from poverty to prosperity[1][4][5].