Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) ReviewIn these days of historical specialization, a comprehensive treatment of any subject is most welcome, whatever its faults. Tilly has indeed set himself a daunting task, namely to explain the development of state formation in Europe over the last millennium; specifically, he seeks to explain why a pattern of divergent state formations ultimately converged in the form of the modern nation-state. To the chagrin of social scientists, he assumes that war has always been the central object of the state; economic/political determinism is complementary but subordinate. Given that the nation-state has enjoyed the greatest military success throughout the centuries, all states have been forced either to move in that direction or cease to exist.
Tilly makes many good points. He reminds us that rulers did not operate with a specific plan of state formation in mind--they created states only in conjunction with certain of their subjects. Given geographic and temporal circumstances, rulers could only pursue increasingly costly military ventures by bargaining with power blocks within their subject population for the necessary resources--soldiers, rations, etc. Where capital was not accumulated and concentrated, the balance of power lay with landowners. Where a city had emerged with a concentration of capital, proto-capitalists held power. Where capital was unavailable, the ruler could resort to methods of coercion of his subjects. Political and economic conditions dictated the bargaining terms with which the ruler sought to win support for his military goals. Tilly argues that different combinations of coercion and capital created diverse types of states. As the demands of war increased, the power blocks which rulers depended on gained more and more advantage over them, thus winning for themselves concessions that increased their standing in the state's government. In effect, the era of bureaucratization was born. The means of capitalization and coercion were incorporated into the structure of the state, and thus was born the nation-state. Essentially, the nation-state has proven to be the best at mobilizing and fighting wars, leading lesser states to either emulate it or risk being conquered by it.
Tilly offers a somewhat simplistic argument, acknowledging the criticisms he duly expects will come. State formation is portrayed as little more than an afterthought of warmongering. The accumulation of royal concessions in time laid the foundation for permanent infrastructure. By seeking revenues and compliance from a subject population, rulers eventually found themselves having to provide for their subjects' welfare--via production, distribution, transportation, etc. In the most modern states, social spending now outweighs military spending; this has served to shorten the length of wars while greatly increasing their intensity. A major contribution of this book is its implication that social history by itself does not explain the emergence of modern states and societies. Some will find Tilly's simplistic model untenable, but I find it quite logical and compelling. His argument (and the wealth of resources on which he draws) certainly warrants serious thought on the part of the reader.Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity) Overview

Want to learn more information about Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990 - 1992 (Studies in Social Discontinuity)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics ReviewLet's get three things straight. This book is (1) a textbook, (2) in mathematical techniques, and (3) aimed at economists. As a textbook, it contains a large number of exercises with which students can test their understanding. As it is written for economists, it is not as rigorous as a mathematics text, but is pitched at a level of rigor appropriate for an economics graduate program at a school like Chicago. As it is a mathematics text, it does not emphasize the economics underlying the problems.
Given this, I think the book does a wonderful job. It is beautifully intuitive, illustrated with lots of examples, and is just rigorous enough to provide the grounding necessary to go on to more advanced mathematics texts.
And for those who want a solutions manual, one is on the way ... Harvard University Press expects to release one some time in 2002. Early drafts are available from the authors: Irigoyen, Rossi-Hansberg and Wright, who are all graduate students at Chicago....Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics Overview

Want to learn more information about Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money ReviewI read both Michael Lewis' "The Big Short" and Steve Drobny's "The Invisible Hands" this week and found them both fascinating. As per usual, Lewis is a wonderful story teller which makes "The Big Short" a fun read, though the book sensationalizes a few guys who made great one-off trades. Drobny's book, on the other hand, focuses on traders who are not one-trick ponies, but the stalwarts of sound investment. These are the less known, but equally successful traders that are often guarded about their methods and secretive about their dealings. The candid insight in "The Invisible Hands" is both impressive and enlightening and full of good ideas for the most effective ways to manage money in the future. It is a must read for anyone who manages money professionally.The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money Overview

Want to learn more information about The Invisible Hands: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Bubbles, Crashes, and Real Money?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change) ReviewThe final chapter of Robinson's book opens with important words once written by Karl Marx: "The correct formulation of the problem already indicates its solution." Robinson's paradigm-shifting articulation of the problem of global capitalism as a hegemonic transnational phenomenon calls for a transnational counterhegemonic response -- a solution that is imaginatively new, materially realizable, and desperately needed.
There is much to praise in this work, particularly in its move to transcend outdated frameworks and epistemological standards to arrive a problem that spells out possible solutions. By deconstructing the role of the nation-state in the global economy and pointing to the significance of transnational production and the rise of a transnational class and the transnational state, Robinson opens up the door and lets class, agency and culture back into the room.
I have engaged with a variety of critical literature that has sought to place the disempowered at the center of analysis in order to legitimize the voice of the "other." While I still believe that this kind of work is important, I have been frustrated with its tendency to fragment struggles by arriving at an array of different problems and respective solutions due to a lack of agreement on the most appropriate unit of analysis. As a critical theorist, Robinson avoids this by critiquing nation-state-centrism and tracing class relations to the material world. He argues that the globalist bloc "achieved hegemony in the last twentieth century because it came to exercise a commanding influence over material life around the world, including the ability to provide rewards and impose sanctions, and because it achieved an ideological dominance by developing both an alternative ideology and a viable alternative program to global capitalism" (174).
This book has major insights for anyone critical of the world in which they live. I approached this book critically, weary of another `big picture' grand narrative story, and finished with a heightened sense of awareness about the world in which I live. Don't be intimidated by the word 'theory' in the title. This book is for everyone.
One last note: While I was reading Robinson's book, I was reminded of a documentary called Mickey Mouse Monopoly-- a film that takes a critical look at the Disney Company's role in shaping global culture through its enormous corporate power (you can watch the entire documentary in ten minute sections on youtube.com). Robinson correctly emphasizes the importance of culture in his book, noting how such cultural icons as Coca Cola, Mickey Mouse, Big Macs, and Nike are "symbolic of the real material domination of TNCs" (31). As Robinson further notes "the ownership and merger of media worldwide is a major area of transnationalization...and their tight control over the worldwide flow of information and images are issues of cultural domination" (129). The Disney Corporation is an example of a transnational corporation participating in a larger global capitalist hegemonic project, and demonstrates careful attention to policing its image and representation. In the documentary the narrator describes Disney as "a transnational media conglomerate owning TV and radio networks, cable systems, internet sites, music studios, media production companies, magazines, sports teams, theaters and theme parks." The narrator continues to raise questions of democracy and Disney's tendency to present a "very limited world view skewed and dominated by corporate interests."
The documentary ends with a revealing quote from Disney's own Michael Eisner in an internal memo: "we have no obligation to make history, we have no obligation to make art, we have no obligation to make a statement, to make money is our only objective."
Dr. Gail Dines, professor of Women's Studies at Wheelock College, poses the following concerns: "What kind of society do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a society were seven global corporations control our culture? At the moment the only people at the table are the holders of corporate power. That's not a democracy."
So, what kind of society do you want to live in? Read Robinson's book and let's talk.
A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change) Overview

Want to learn more information about A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...