The Paradox of Civilization: Pre-Institutional Sources of Security and Prosperity (original) (raw)

Accumulation , and the Emergence of Civilizations

2013

This paper examines the hypothesis that institutional development, in the form of property rights, may have played a key role in facilitating agricultural capital accumulation, which in turn promoted the emergence of early civilizations. We rely on a falsification approach to examine Neolithic settlements in riverine environments along major ancient trade routes, and argue that neither geography nor trade—two main fundamental determinants of growth—were not sufficient to ensure the emergence of civilizations between 4500 and 1600 bce. We go on to show that a distinguishing feature of these early civilizations was the development of institutional regimes that offered either actual or notional respect for property rights, and the importance of the development of writing in supporting such

The Myth of Isolated Civilizations

2011

In this wide-ranging and ambitious study, David Wengrow examines the joint evolution of two great adjacent civilizations, Egypt and Mesopotamia, over a span of four millennia. Central to the book (and critical to answering the question posed in its title) are the interactions between these and other societies, interactions that Wengrow sees as inseparably cosmological and economic.

Institutional Development, Capital Accumulation, and the Emergence of Civilizations

2013

This paper examines the hypothesis that institutional development, in the form of property rights, may have played a key role in facilitating agricultural capital accumulation, which in turn promoted the emergence of early civilizations. We rely on a falsication approach to examine Neolithic settlements in riverine environments along major ancient trade routes, and argue that neither geography nor trade|two main fundamental determinants of growth|were not sucient to ensure the emergence of civilizations between 4500 and 1600 bce. We go on to show that a distinguishing feature of these early civilizations was the development of institutional regimes that oered either actual or notional respect for property rights, and the importance of the development of writing in supporting such regimes.

On Civilizational Strategic Studies

Comparative Civilizations Review, 2023

Outline of a proposed strategic study of civilizations as an interdisciplinary approach centered on the study of inter- and intra-civilizational conflict and peace strategies. Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 88: No. 88, Article 6.

A Note on Civilizations and Economies

European Journal of Social Theory, 2010

This article approaches the topic of civilizations and economies through a discussion of two key texts that appeared during the first wave of interest among social scientists for the phenomenon of civilization: 'Note on the Notion of Civilization' ([1913] 1998) by Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss, and 'Author's Introduction' ([1920a] 1930) by Max Weber. Durkheim and Mauss were of the opinion that civilizations have their own, unique form of existence that is very difficult to understand and theorize. Civilizations, they nonetheless suggest, are marked off by symbolic boundaries and consist of elements that are hard for political authorities to control, including money, commerce, techniques and tools. Max Weber's most important attempt to struggle with the idea of civilization, can be found in his portrait of Western civilization in 'Author's Introduction'. Weber, as is well known, suggests in this writing that Western civilization is characterized by a 'specific and peculiar rationalism'-and he devotes a large part of the text to a portrait of modern rational capitalism. This type of capitalism, we conclude, is consequently civilizational in nature. Its emergence, as Weber also shows elsewhere, cannot be explained by referring to some special group or nation. The two works by Weber and Durkheim and Mauss, the article concludes, allow us to better understand civilizations as distinct social-cultural configurations and also to approach their economic dimension. Both works emphasize the fact that one needs to use an interdisciplinary as well as a comparative approach to undertake a civilizational as well as a civilizational-economic analysis.

The Ancient Origins of the Wealth of Nations

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020

This essay explores the deepest roots of economic development. It underscores the significance of evolutionary processes in shaping fundamental individual and cultural traits, such as time preference, risk and loss aversion, and predisposition towards child quality, that have contributed to technological progress, human-capital formation, and economic development. Moreover, it highlights the persistent mark of the exodus of Homo sapiens from Africa tens of thousands of years ago on the degree of interpersonal population diversity across the globe and examines the impact of this variation in diversity for comparative economic, cultural, and institutional development across countries, regions, and ethnic groups.

The Neglected Role of Inequality in Explanations of the Collapse of Ancient States

Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution

Despite recent and past research into the collapse of ancient states and into ancient inequality, the possible role of inequality in collapse has been ignored. Inequality as a potential explanatory factor in civil war and collapse in modern states has been the subject of around 150 flawed regression analyses, from which no consensus has emerged. Data for ancient states is insufficient to enable such quantitative modelling. But case studies of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, the Western Roman Empire and the Classic Maya suggest some role for inequality, although the data is sparse and contentious. Paucity of data probably reflects lack of interest and a recent study (Kohler and Ellyson 2018) shows what can be achieved.