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Coordination, Cooperation, and Control

The Evolution of Economic and Political Power

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Randall G. Holcombe

    1. Department of Economics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

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  • Provides a theoretical understanding of power and then applies that framework to a variety of historical cases
  • Attributes economic progress to the separation of economic from political power
  • Draws on historical and anthropological evidence on the evolution of power from sociology and political science

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. The Concept of Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 1-20

  3. Political Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 21-44

  4. Economic Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 45-68

  5. The Separation of Economic from Political Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 69-94

  6. Power in Pre-Agricultural Societies

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 95-121

  7. Power in Agrarian and Feudal Societies

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 123-147

  8. Institutions That Support Commerce and Industry

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 149-168

  9. Power in Commercial and Industrial Societies

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 169-191

  10. Politics as a Vocation

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 193-217

  11. The Social Contract

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 219-237

  12. Ideology, Politics, and Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 239-254

  13. Clouds on the Horizon: The Recombination of Political and Economic Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 255-279

  14. Progress and Power

    • Randall G. Holcombe
    Pages 281-305

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 307-328
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Keywords

About this book

There are two ways people coordinate their actions: through cooperation, exercised by economic power, and through control, exercised by political power. When economic and political power are held by the same people, the result is stagnation; when those who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result is progress. This book presents the ways in which economic power and political power can be separated, and how they can remain so, by analyzing the nature of power and the differences between economic and political power. The book then discusses the history of economic and political power, including hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies, and modern commercial and industrial societies. This background lends insight into why political and economic power were typically held by the same people, and why recently those without political power have been able to acquire economic power. Incentives play a key role in understanding how those two types of power can become separated, and why there is always a tendency for them to recombine. But ideas also play a crucial role, including the influence of the Enlightenment, on the progress that has occurred in the last several hundred years.

Reviews

“Holcombe’s book offers a thorough treatment of the concept of power, and it is an important resource for scholars of political economy and public choice theory. Moreover, the material is presented in a way that is accessible to those that do not have strong background in the social sciences. The book can also be a valuable reference for graduate and undergraduate courses … .” (Vaios Koliofotis, Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, Vol. 15 (1), 2022)


"This is a terrifc book. … Holcombe has been a leader in attempting that redirection back toward foundations, and this book advances that program still further.” (Michael Munger, Public Choice, Vol. 188, 2021)
“This book is the most important analysis of power since Bertrand de Jouvenel’s, On Power. Expertly combining insights from interdisciplinary scholarship and from human history, Holcombe documents the various types of power and why it matters for human wellbeing. Most importantly, his comprehensive analysis offers insight into the mechanisms which limit the pernicious effects of power while encouraging human creativity and flourishing. This book is invaluable to anyone interested in human freedom and flourishing.” (Christopher Coyne, Professor of Economics, George Mason University)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Economics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

    Randall G. Holcombe

About the author

Randall G. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University, USA. Holcombe is also Senior Fellow at the James Madison Institute and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California. He served on Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2000 to 2006 and is past president of the Public Choice Society and the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics. Holcombe is the author of fifteen books and more than 200 articles published in academic and professional journals.

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