Why do tax havens exist? Because rich countries allow them to. If the U.S. came down on tax havens in the same way they come down on countries that trade with Iran and Cuba, we'd have no tax havens in the world. Ha-Joon Chang countrycubaexist share on social
The invention of the printing press was one of the most important events in human history. Ha-Joon Chang eventhistoryhuman Change image and share on social
When I was growing up in South Korea in the '70s and early '80s, the country was too poor to buy original records. Everything was bootlegged. Ha-Joon Chang 70s80sbootleg Change image and share on social
Contrary to what professional economists will typically tell you, economics is not a science. All economic theories have underlying political and ethical assumptions, which make it impossible to prove them right or wrong in the way we can with theories in physics or chemistry. Ha-Joon Chang assumptionchemistrycontrary share on social
A lot of things that we cannot buy and sell in markets used to be totally legal objects of market exchange - human beings when we had slavery, child labour, human organs, and so on. So there is no economic theory that actually says that you shouldn't have slavery or child labour because all these are political, ethical judgments. Ha-Joon Chang beingbuychild share on social
It is time that we dispensed with the myth that the market is a force of nature that should not be meddled with. Markets are social creations that can be, and have been, modified for social purposes. Ha-Joon Chang creationdispenseforce Change image and share on social
The truth is that the free movement of goods, people, and money that developed under British hegemony between 1870 and 1913 - the first episode of globalization - was made possible, in large part, by military might rather than market forces. Ha-Joon Chang britishdevelopepisode share on social
Gone are the days when the upper classes were terrified of the angry mob wanting to smash their skulls and confiscate their properties. Now their biggest enemy is the army of lazy bums, whose lifestyle of indolence and hedonism, financed by crippling taxes on the rich, is sucking the lifeblood out of the economy. Ha-Joon Chang angryarmybig share on social