Category Archives: Politics
Democracy and its consolidation — thoughts from The Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
My thoughts are based on the book The Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. The book discusses how the economic conditions of countries affect their paths of political institutions. Here the word “democracy” is defined by Schumpeter to be The institutional arrangements for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire power …
The central power balance in Chinese hereditary monarchy
The Chinese monarchy lasted for several thousand years and had great impact upon the economic and social structure of the contemporary Chinese society. The ideology and mechanism supporting autocratic elements entrenched in the Chinese political system persist long after the original institutions collapsed. In this paper, I will use theories of autocracy, dictatorship to analyze …
The Power of Exit
This might appear weird to you at first sight. People usually speak of “the power of entry” or “limited entry” in monopoly industries. And we know that the power of entry can give existing players exorbitant profits. The power of exit, however, seems to be rather counterfactual: Why do you need a power to exit? What does it apply …
China’s civil service examination system as a form of power sharing
In Mu Chien’s book Traditional government in imperial China: A Critical Analysis (中国历代政治得失), he argues that the civil examination exam was a way for the Chinese emperors to share their political power with the masses. This sounded weird at first insight. Chinese emperors had absolute political in their hands. Why do they have to share their power, then? A ruler always makes sure the …
Notes on Patricia Crone’s discussion about pre-industrial society politics
My following thoughts are based on reading of Patricia Crone’s book Pre-industrial Societies, chapter 4. Pre-industrial society politics tended to be dominated by a small group of people, i.e. the ruling class. Hereditary kings tend to think about the state as their own possession or family property. Those who have easy access to the king, e.g. eunuchs in …
Scarcity and locality reflected in Chinese pre-industrial societies
In Patricia Crone’s book Pre-Industrial Societies: Anatomy of the Pre-Modern World, she put forward an interesting argument: scarcity and locality of activities are the two fundamental features of pre-industrial societies, and they justified the existence and development of various economic, political, and social institutions and policies in the pre-industrial world. It is interesting to relate this …
Why did the Chinese empire last for so long?
But once I started to think about it, it’s hard to put it off my mind. Of course, this is an open-ended question. Recently I’ve been reading The Gain and Loss of Chinese Political Affairs In All The Past Dynasties (中国历代政治得失) by Mu Chien (钱穆). The book has sparkled some thoughts for me that I think worth noting down …
Notes on the structure of dictatorship
The below thoughts are based on Stephen Haber’s book about authoritarian government and Prof. Richard Wong’s lecture today. Because a dictator must depend on a launching group to help him seize power, he is faced with the threat that these people might take over his place after he becomes the autocrat. Therefore he must find a …
Notes on the inadequacy of voting
The notes are based on Liberalism Against Populism by William Riker. The following are what I’ve found most interesting: 1. Even if the individuals’ preferences are consistent, the amalgamation of their interests might lead to conflicting results. This can be due to strategic voting, i.e. people deliberately vote for their less favored candidate to facilitate the winning of their favorite …
Notes on the liberal and populist views of democracy
This is what I reflected upon after reading William Riker’s Liberalism against Populism Chapter 1. The theory of social choice states why people form organizations. The theory of democracy, on the other hand, tells a story of how ordinary politics can realize the ideals of self-control and self-dignity (suggested by Plato). The three elements of …
