Preface; 1. The conceptual framework; 2. The natural state; 3. The natural state applied: English land law; 4. Open access orders; 5. Explaining the transition from limited to open access orders: the doorstep conditions; 6. The transition proper; 7. A new research agenda for the social sciences; Afterword.
This book integrates the problem of violence into a larger framework, showing how economic and political behavior are closely linked.
Douglass C. North is co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science. He is Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts and Sciences at Washington University, St Louis and Bartlett Burnap Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. John Joseph Wallis is Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Barry R. Weingast is Ward C. Krebs Family Professor in the Department of Political Science and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Reviews of the hardback: 'With bravado, abandon, and great
learning, North, Wallis, and Weingast have produced an excellent
read - a book that is intriguing, entertaining, irritating, and
provocative. Violence and Social Orders is an important book that
deserves a wide readership. Its concepts will shape academic
discourse and its arguments in the fields of economic history and
development studies.' Robert Bates, Journal of Economic
Literature
'If anyone is iconic in the economic history world Doug North
certainly qualifies … This time, North is joined by two prominent
and strong-minded co-authors, John Wallis and Barry Weingast. Their
collaboration has been fruitful … Above all, the notion that one
cannot simply 'get rid' of the superficial exterior of natural
states and thereby uncover the beating heart of an open access
order yearning to be free is the book's most important idea, and
profound.' Robert Margo, EH.Net
'A demanding but rewarding work, with intriguing echoes of Marx …
Highly recommended.' Choice
'While there is still much more work to be done in understanding
how to get from here to there, the authors' insights regarding the
control of violence in natural, limited access societies versus
modern, open-access societies are nonetheless major contributions …
North, Wallis, and Weingast's analysis of violence and its
suppression provides a simple, straightforward path to
understanding both authoritarianism and transitional violence.' D.
Roderick Kiewiet, Journal of Economic History
'… an immodestly titled and immoderately stimulating book …'
Jonathan Rauch, The National Journal
'… strong, persuasive … Anyone interested in development, economic
history, the analysis of institutions or the idea of a generalized
social science would do well to read this book … what is new in the
book is the way its authors have connected, systematized and
synthesized these previously disparate ideas to produce the
limited-/open-access framework with which they propose to interpret
human history. Their framework proves strikingly effective at this
task … the new social science paradigm it presents is compelling
and worthy of wide attention.' Mark Holden, International
Affairs
'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 demanding but rewarding work, with intriguing echoes of Marx …
Highly recommended.' Choice
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