Branko Milanovic reviews Francis Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order.

How do you write about a book that is almost 600 pages long (in small print), has 25 pages of references, and the ambition to explain political institutions from the dawn of mankind to the French Revolution, from kinship-based bands of hunters to Voltaire? This was Francis Fukuyama’s objective in this monumental (yet eminently readable) book, “The Origins of PoliticalOrder” (note the plural).
My review, given the size and importance of the book, will be done in two parts, First, here, I will review the logic of the arguments put forward by Fukuyama. In the second review, I will engage into some critique....

Global Inequality
A Grand Fresco: The Origins of Political Order

Francis Fukuyama against mainstream economics

Branko Milanovic | Visiting Presidential Professor at City University of New York Graduate Center and senior scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), and formerly lead economist in the World Bank's research department and senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Finley, Franck, and Johnson — Economic consequences of revolutions: Evidence from the 1789 French Revolution

Political revolutions often bring swift regime change leading to short-run economic change, but the long-term consequences are less clear. Some argue that revolutions pave the way for capitalist market growth, while others argue they are only political in nature with limited economic consequence. This column uses extensive evidence from the French Revolution to show that the effects vary across the country and over time. The analysis speaks to questions of concern to developing countries regarding the relationship between institutional change, inequality, and long-run economic development.

vox.eu
Economic consequences of revolutions: Evidence from the 1789 French Revolution
Theresa Finley, Assistant Professor of Economics, Sigmund Weis School of Business, Susquehanna University; Raphael Franck, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Noel Johnson, Associate Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Robert Skidelsky — Website Slouching Toward Trump

Entering an uncharted new era as a reaction to neoliberal globalization.

Robert Skidelsky's Website
Slouching Toward Trump

Robert Skidelsky | Emeritus Professor of Political Economy in the University of Warwick, England

J. Bradford DeLong — When Is Responsible Democratic Governance Possible? The Classical View: Never

Democracy Must Be Irresponsible: So Responsible Governance Must Be Undemocratic

This is why America was founded as a democratic republic rather than a democracy. The obvious question is why elected officials will not be approximately equal to the level of collective consciousness of voters and reflect voters' mindset. Oh right, the wealthy and successful will dominate the candidate selection process. But what if the selection process is conducted through primaries. Could not representatives of "the rabble" be selected since the rabble comprise the majority of the population?

Some interesting quotes of Alexander Hamilton.

Grasping Reality with Both Hands
When Is Responsible Democratic Governance Possible? The Classical View: Never
J. Bradford DeLong

Richard Bourke — Burke was no conservative

Edmund Burke, one of the great statesmen and philosophers of the 18th century, is the founder of modern conservatism. Or so it is commonly held: authorities, from Corey Robin on the left to Niall Ferguson on the right, agree that conservative ideology can be traced to this original source. The view has in fact been commonplace in the United States since the 1950s and has steadily been gaining currency across the globe. Admirers of Burke’s ‘traditionalism’ can be found in numerous countries, as different as the Netherlands and Japan. Yet there is something deeply misleading about this view of conservatism’s origins. Burke was a reforming Whig of the 18th-century British parliament whose ideas were not developed with modern politics in mind.

Even if we imagine Burke as our contemporary, his commitments are not in any way compatible with conservatism. For example, he was a defender of colonial rights against the British Empire during the period of the American Revolution. In lending his support to American defiance, he opposed the reigning tenets of British imperial policy and took a stand against successive ministries at Westminster. His defence of colonial rights included support for insurrection, for violent resistance against established authority. It is hard to reconcile this endorsement of revolt with what are usually regarded as conservative ideals.…

Conservatives have either ignored Burke’s support for colonial rebellion, or maintained that his career was split between two phases: an early period of support for the ‘liberal’ cause of America and a later ‘conservative’ reaction to the Revolution in France. Burke certainly changed his opinions over the course of his career, but these shifts cannot be captured by presuming a contradiction between his support for American resistance and his aversion to the revolution in France. Representations of Burke as a renegade from early idealism are based on the dogmatic assumption that the American and French revolutions were fundamentally ‘the same’. Yet for Burke these two events were absolutely different, and in fact he had good reasons for insisting on their difference.…

For anyone concerned to focus on what matters in politics, they would be better off evaluating the substance of particular issues than reaching to enlist canonical thinkers in contemporary causes by branding them with complacent and misleading categories.

Aeon
Burke was no conservative

Richard Bourke

Interesting tidbit of contemporary relevance:

Burke’s view was that Westminster confused its authority with its power. In being affronted by the audacity of the Americans, the British ministry began to fear for its own dignity. Instead of bolstering its standing by public acts of goodwill, the government resorted to shows of strength. As a result, each time Westminster tried to demonstrate its potency, it compromised its standing in the eyes of the colonists. The underlying irony was that the more the metropole opted to display its might, the more it undermined its moral authority. Imperial militancy thus led to imperial impotence.

Candice Bernd — The Labor Movement Will Be Televised: "Strength in Union" Examines Past, Present, Future of US Labor Movement (video)

A new made-for-television documentary series aims to unpack the history of the labor movement in the United States in five one-hour episodes to combat anti-union propaganda at a time when union power is waning and collective-bargaining rights are under attack across the nation.

Legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger will help narrate the new series "Strength in Union," which tackles the history of the U.S. labor movement from its origins in the early Industrial Revolution to its historic struggles in incidents ranging from the battle with the Pinkertons, the Haymarket Riot in Chicago, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory strike and fire, the Taft-Hartley Act, Reagan’s firing of the air traffic controllers in the '80s, and on to some of today's most important labor issues, including free-trade agreements and the effects of globalization on American unions....

The series is being produced by the Arete Living Arts Foundation and likely will air on PBS after post-production wraps up. Shooting is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

"I hope this will kind of push back against the right-wing propaganda that's really affecting people, especially in rural areas of America," Pink said.

Truthout | News
The Labor Movement Will Be Televised: "Strength in Union" Examines Past, Present, Future of US Labor Movement (video)
Candice Bernd

Will PBS air it in the present environment?