Academic

Legal Theory Bookworm

By Lawrence Solum

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History by Douglass C. North, John Joseph Wallis, & Barry R. Weingast. Here is a description:

All societies must deal with the possibility of violence, and they do so in different ways. This book integrates the problem of violence into a larger social science and historical framework, showing how economic and political behavior are closely linked. Most societies, which we call natural states, limit violence by political manipulation of the economy to create privileged interests. These privileges limit the use of violence by powerful individuals, but doing so hinders both economic and political development. In contrast, modern societies create open access to economic and political organizations, fostering political and economic competition. The book provides a framework for understanding the two types of social orders, why open access societies are both politically and economically more developed, and how some 25 countries have made the transition between the two types.

And from the reviews:

'This much-anticipated, pioneering, sweeping millennial history explains how the evolution of impersonal and standardized treatment, a rule of law for elites, perpetual forms of organization, and consolidated political control of the military combined to produce the 'open access' logic of rent erosion and economic growth often observed in the modern world. Emphatically multi-causal in approach, the book will persuade all those who want to analyze the complex interactions of beliefs, institutions, and organizations that they have to deal with its arguments.' James Alt, Harvard University

'Why do we obey laws, adhere to rules, and conform to norms? Doug North, John Wallis, and Barry Weingast offer a simple, powerful, and compelling answer - disorder and the violence it entails. This book is must-reading for anyone serious about the origins of social order and the reasons for its disintegration.' Stephen Ansolabehere, Harvard University

'A masterful and revealing interpretation of how 'nasty, brutish, and short' became healthy, wealthy, and peaceful and why the transformation occurred in some nations but not in others.' Claudia Goldin, Harvard University

'Violence and Social Orders is a thought-provoking, pioneering, and ambitious study. It should be read by anyone interested in the institutional underpinning of development.' Avner Greif, Stanford University

'This book presents a powerful new theory of the interaction between law, politics, and the structure of power. It is sure to be influential for decades to come.' Daniel Klerman, University of Southern California

'Why are poor countries poor and rich countries rich? North, Wallis, and Weingast explain why - it's the politics stupid! A compelling book for anyone who wants to understand the world.' James A. Robinson, Harvard University

'A major work of great ambition, this book will become a standard reference in any informed discussion on how societies make the transition from anarchy to democracy, and from poverty to wealth.' Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

'Violence and Social Orders expands institutional economics into new realms, presenting an innovative perspective on the organization of pre-modern societies. Anthropologists and other social scientists will find much to think about in this important book.' Michael E. Smith, Arizona State University

Hugely ambitious & sure to be controversial, this book is an must for anyone interested in PPT (positive political theory) and institutional economic approaches to explaining the fundamental characteristics of legal orders--and if you aren't yet interested, this book may convince you that you should be.  "Violence and Social Orders" belongs on every legal theorist's bookshelf.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on March 28, 2009 (boomark / email).