- “The Rise of the Bureaucratic State” (pdf) James Q Wilson, Public Interest
- “Rethinking the State: Genesis and Structure of Bureaucracy” (pdf) Pierre Bourdieu, ST
- “State Capacity, Bureaucratic Politicization, and Corruption” (pdf) Katherine Bersch, et al, Governance
- Why are skyscrapers so short? Brian Potter, Works in Progress
state capacity
Nightcap
- All ideologies eventually seem to fail Scott Sumner, EconLog
- State capacity libertarianism as a pipe dream Jason Brennan, 200-Proof Liberals
- China after Covid Wang Xiuying, London Review of Books
- Nationalism, Eastern European style James Felak, Law & Liberty
Nightcap
- The American Dream after Covid-19 Paul Croce, Origins
- Marx has the last laugh Eric Lonergan, Philosophy of Money
- Some thoughts on “state capacity” Mark Koyama, NOL
- British socialism and the European Union Helen Dale, Law & Liberty
“Polycentric Sovereignty: The Medieval Constitution, Governance Quality, and the Wealth of Nations”
It is widely accepted that good institutions caused the massive increase in living standards enjoyed by ordinary people over the past two hundred years. But what caused good institutions? Scholars once pointed to the polycentric governance structures of medieval Europe, but this explanation has been replaced by arguments favoring state capacity. Here we revitalize the ‘polycentric Europe’ hypothesis and argue it is a complement to state capacity explanations. We develop a new institutional theory, based on political property rights and what we call polycentric sovereignty, which explains how the medieval patrimony resulted in the requisite background conditions for good governance, and hence widespread social wealth creation.
By Alexander Salter & Andrew Young. Read the whole excellent thing here. I wonder how much the author’s conception of “polycentric sovereignty” has in common with Madison’s compound republic?
Salter & Young do a great job bringing decentralization back into the overall “economic growth and political freedom” picture. Over the past two decades, political centralization as a good thing has been making a comeback under the guise of “state capacity.” This isn’t a bad trend, but it has left several large gaps in understanding how economic development and political freedom works. (For example, how to prevent centralized states from pursuing illiberal ends, or using illiberal means to pursue supposedly liberal ends.)
This article brings decentralization back into the picture, using Elinor and Vincent Ostrom’s conception of polycentricity as a model. However, I don’t think they spend enough time on Vincent Ostrom’s understanding of the American compound republic. The American federalists were concerned with exactly the same thing that we are concerned about now: how to maintain a proper balance of centralized power and decentralized power so that liberty may flourish. I’ve emphasized the important part with italics. The liberty aspect gets de-emphasized to make room for the sexier “economic growth” aspect, but political freedom is still paramount when it comes to thinking through matters of politics.
The American federalists, and especially Madison, came up with the compound republic to address the centralized/decentralized debate. Scholars continue to underrate its genius and usefulness for capturing humans as they are. Ostrom’s book on the Madisonian compound republic is worth your time and money. Read it in tandem with this book on the Federalist Papers and this book on the formation of the American republic and this short paper on the continued viability of the compound republic to today’s world. Once you’ve done the readings, start writing (or better yet: blogging!).
Nightcap
- On broken treaties with the Natives Anderson & Crepelle, the Hill
- The EU’s last shot at redemption? Austin Doehler, War on the Rocks
- The flailing states of Britain and the US Pankaj Mishra, LRB
- Political freedom’s revelatory effect Matthew Crawford, Hedgehog Review
Nightcap
- The perils of sacrificing sovereignty to gain sovereignty Michael Koplow, Ottomans & Zionists
- State capacity libertarianism and the Chinese model Scott Sumner, MoneyIllusion
- A thought experiment in distributed government Rick Weber, Notes On Liberty
- Trapped in Iran Nicolas Pelham, 1843
Nightcap
- We’re still living in Stalin’s world Diana Preston, New York Times
- The state is a predator, not a tool Joseph Salerno, Mises Wire
- The world is increasingly fragile Scott Sumner, MoneyIllusion
- Facts about Gustav Klimt Zoë Vanderweide, Sotheby’s
Nightcap
- Michel Houellebecq’s fragile world Siddhartha Deb, New Republic
- Classical liberalism vs libertarianism John McGinnis, Law & Liberty
- State capacity libertarianism is just old fashioned conservatism Samuel Hammond, Niskanen
- Meritocracy and capitalism in China today Long Ling, LRB
Nightcap
- A classical liberal view of the Iran crisis? Van de Haar & Kamall, IEA
- Great essay on state capacity libertarianism Geloso & Salter, AEIR
- The loneliness of the resistance protester Micah Sifry, New Republic
- The Woke primary is over and everybody lost Matt Welch, Reason
Nightcap
- Becoming “white”: the much-maligned notion of assimilation Peter Skerry, CRB
- Kama muta: a new term for that warm, fuzzy feeling we all get Alan Fiske, Aeon
- Moral blackmail and salvation by faith (Iran) Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
- Should libertarians heart state capacity? Arnold Kling, askblog
Nightcap
- Humour in the time of Stalin Jonathan Waterlow, Aeon
- Liberalism and the death penalty Craig Lerner, Law & Liberty
- American Jews and antisemitism Michael Koplow, Ottomans & Zionists
- State capacity libertarianism Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
Nightcap
- Wars makes us safer and richer Ian Morris, Washington Post
- Sovereignty is no solution Dalibor Rohac, American Interest
- American conservatism and Marxist paradigms Mary Lucia Darst, NOL
- Libertarians and the legitimacy crisis Arnold Kling, askblog
Nightcap
- Trump’s “Salute to America” is a salute to government employees Ryan McMaken, Power & Market
- Oligarchs and oligarchs Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
- The deleted clause of the Declaration of Independence Kevin Kallmes, NOL
- Class and optimism Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
Afternoon Tea: “Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War”
This cross-border conversation had a broad and tragic context. In the early 1830s, following what for most had been nearly two generations of imperfect peace, Comanches, Kiowas, Navajos, and several different tribes of Apaches dramatically increased their attacks upon northern Mexican settlements. While contexts and motivations varied widely, most of the escalating violence reflected Mexico’s declining military and diplomatic capabilities, as well as burgeoning markets for stolen livestock and captives. Indian men raided Mexican ranches, haciendas, and towns, killing or capturing the people they found there, and stealing or destroying animals and other property. When able, Mexicans responded by attacking their enemies with comparable cruelty and avarice. Raids expanded, breeding reprisals and deepening enmities, until the searing violence touched all or parts of nine states.
This is from Brian DeLay, a historian at Cal-Berkeley. Here is a link.
Nightcap
- Britain’s Open Doors Policy Chris Dillow, Stumbling and Mumbling
- About those Ancestry dot com commercials… Ryan Anderson, Anthro{dendum}
- The Unfinished World Nick Nielsen, The View from Oregon
- “State Capacity” is Sleight of Hand Bryan Caplan, EconLog