What book on the nation state?
Someone just wrote to ask what to read on the nation state. Interesting phrase. It is different from the state, which is ancient. The nation state as we know it is a modern invention -- also called the managerial state. The idea is that the state survives and is independent from its head. It has a life that exists outside the dictator, president, monarch, or whatever. It is also called the impersonal state, and its heartbeat is the bureaucracy, and it certainly has a genesis in the late medieval period. It is the only state anyone in the developed world has known for centuries.
Ok, so what book on this topic in particular? A book that gets far less attention than it should, a book of marvelous brilliance, a book that should be read by every student of politics: Rise and Decline of the State, by Martin van Creveld.
No, it is not online. Blame the publisher, not us. We made a special arrangement just to have these available. In fact, our stock at the current price is rather limited. I don't even know if we can get more in the future. I would love to see it land in our hands at some point so that we can free it into Creative Commons, But I sincerely doubt that will happen. In any case, so long as we have it in stock at a reasonable price, you seriously owe it to yourself to devour this great work and tell others about it.
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Comments (11)
Comments (11)
twv
Of course, Mises wrote a book on this subject. Hey, and look! It's available on Mises.org! (I've never read it, but I hear it is quite good.) Guess what? I'm going to buy it now.
http://mises.org:80/store/Nation-State-and-Economy-P320.aspx
Published: July 17, 2009 5:19 PM
matt at anarchyjapan.com
Just a quick note. While you can fairly easily find a copy of this work through various file sharing sites, you should not download it, as this would be in violation of certain copyright laws and so on.
Published: July 17, 2009 6:32 PM
DNA
"Someone just wrote to ask what to read on the nation state. Interesting phrase. It is different from the state, which is ancient. "
I'm wondering if Jeff Tucker is confusing state and nation here?
Published: July 17, 2009 7:48 PM
Sukrit
I second Jeff Tucker's recommendation. The van Creveld book is simply amazing - a must for any libertarian interested in learning the history of how States have seized increasing control.
I haven't bought it, but it should be in any good library.
Published: July 17, 2009 8:00 PM
Jake
Yeah, if anyone wants to check it out before purchasing it, it can easily be found in pdf form with a quick web search.
Published: July 17, 2009 9:17 PM
Jeffrey Tucker
ok, I thought I'd seen it all. amazing. it does give one hope, doesn't it?
Published: July 17, 2009 9:29 PM
Gil
"I'm wondering if Jeff Tucker is confusing state and nation here?"
Probably. How is a nation-state different from a city-state other than by size and scale?
Published: July 18, 2009 12:55 AM
Rafael
More precisely, a genuine working knowledge of the Democratic Welfare Nation State is the pinnacle
of understanding in megapolitics.
IMHO, the founders of ACORN, for example,
shouldn't understand it better than you.
Published: July 19, 2009 10:56 AM
Rafael
More precisely, a genuine working knowledge of the Democratic Welfare Nation State is the pinnacle
of understanding in megapolitics.
IMHO, the founders of ACORN, for example,
shouldn't understand it better than you.
The best book I have found which provides
a thorough background on today is
The Sovereign Individual, by Davidson and
Mogg.
Published: July 19, 2009 10:59 AM
Josiah
I would also add "The State" by Anthony de Jasay. Truly one of the overlooked greats of our time.
Published: July 19, 2009 11:52 AM
Damien
I would also suggest North, Wallis, & Weingast's "Violence and Social Orders".
Published: July 19, 2009 2:49 PM