1960s. This lack of political centralization, almost to the
point of total collapse of the state, is a feature that Congo
shares with much of sub-Saharan Africa.
The modern Democratic Republic of Congo remains
poor because its citizens still lack the economic institutions
that create the basic incentives that make a society
prosperous. It is not geography, culture, or the ignorance of
its citizens or politicians that keep the Congo poor, but its
extractive economic institutions. These are still in place
after all these centuries because political power continues
to be narrowly concentrated in the hands of an elite who
have little incentive to enforce secure property rights for the
people, to provide the basic public services that would
improve the quality of life, or to encourage economic
progress. Rather, their interests are to extract income and
sustain their power. They have not used this power to build
a centralized state, for to do so would create the same
problems of opposition and political challenges that
promoting economic growth would. Moreover, as in much
of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, infighting triggered by
rival groups attempting to take control of extractive
institutions destroyed any tendency for state centralization
that might have existed.
The history of the Kingdom of Kongo, and the more
recent history of the Congo, vividly illustrates how political
institutions determine economic institutions and, through
these, the economic incentives and the scope for economic
growth. It also illustrates the symbiotic relationship between
political absolutism and economic institutions that
empower and enrich a few at the expense of many.
G ROWTH U NDER E XTRACTIVE P OLITICAL I NSTITUTIONS
Congo today is an extreme example, with lawlessness and
highly insecure property rights. However, in most cases
such extremism would not serve the interest of the elite,
since it would destroy all economic incentives and generate
few resources to be extracted. The central thesis of this
book is that economic growth and prosperity are
associated with inclusive economic and political
institutions, while extractive institutions typically lead to
stagnation and poverty. But this implies neither that