Key Terms
What is the Spirit of Capitalism? (Weber)
The idea of the DUTY of the individual to work toward the increase of their wealth is an end in itself
What is Democracy? (Lipset)
Rule by the people; a political system which supplies regular constitutional opportunities for changing the role of those in gov't power; a social system which permits the largest part of the population to influence major decisions through choosing contenders for political office
What is State Strength/Capacity? (Fukuyama)
The capacity of state institutions to do what is needed
What is Late Industrializaton? (Amsden)
Industrialization which is slow in the beginning; industrialization occurs when the state intervenes with the market to stimulate the economy
What are Institutions? (Acemoglu & Robinson)
The formal, written rules of how things work and structure behavior; good institutions = create growth, bad institutions = limit growth
What is "Traditional" society? (Rostow)
A society whose structure is developed with limited production functions; based on a pre-newtonian understanding of science and the physical world; LIMIT on production
What is Democratization? (Lipset)
The process of spreading democracy across various states, supported by the idea that democracy saves states from hardship (politically/economically/etc.); ebbed and flowed across decades and became most strong following 9/11
What is State Scope? (Fukuyama)
What Gov't chooses to overlook and act on; can manifest in Gov't doing too many things
What is the State?
An organization with legitimate authority over the use of physical force within a given territory; an organization where political leaders implement and impose decisions and provide services
What are Property Rights? (Acemoglu & Robinson)
The foundational driver of long-term economic growth and national prosperity; must be well defined and secure
What is Take-Off? (Rostow)
The point when a society overcomes traditionalist roadblocks and begins to exhibit growth; growth becomes the norm
What is Class Struggle/Conflict? (Lipset)
The relationship between the patterns of working-class political action in different countries and their respective national income
What does "war made the state and the state made war" mean? (Herbst)
The war makes the state by promoting a need for revenue and innovation; the state made war through taxation and conscription
What is Nomial Protection? (Bates)
Protection given to the price of products; when gov'ts impose tariffs or quantitative restrictions on imports, enabling domestic prices to rise above the price of foreign goods
What is Path-Dependent? (Acemoglu & Robinson)
How past political and economic choices lock societies into long-term trajectories where history heavily shapes, but does not entirely dictate, future outcomes
What is National bourgeoisie? (Marx)
Business-owning, capitalist class in colonial countries who support independent national development and oppose foreign imperialism; pro-capitalist, anti-imperialist
What is Democracy Promotion? (Lipset)
Promoting democracy as a form of foreign policy
What does taxation do?
Allows for states to develop politically and measure the effect of war; represents the strength of a state
What is Effective Protection? (Bates)
Protection given to the profits of industries; takes into account the impact of trade barriers on the prices of products but also on the costs of goods used in their manufacturing
What is Creative Destruction? (Acemoglu & Robinson)
An outcome of a good institution; permanent competition in which there are no perpetual winners and innovation is fair and profitable
What is Learning? (Amsden)
The means which states who industrialized during the 20th century progress and compete with already industrialized states
What is a Liberal Democracy? (Lipset)
A system of legal rights and checks that limit government power; done to prevent the "tyranny of the majority" and protect individual and minority rights from state overreach; The U.S. is a Liberal Democracy
Why is Population Density significant?
Low population density made it too expensive for African rulers to project power over large distances, shaping a state-building path very different from Europe's
What are Urban Interests? (Bates)
The state securing policies that increase prices to consumers; workers + firm owners benefit from the increase
What is Extraction-Coercion Cycle?
External threat of war → state needs revenue, soldiers, and military technology → state builds capacity for taxation, conscription, training, and innovation → state fights and wins wars → new threats emerge; essentially just war made the state and its inverse