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August 14, 2006, Featuring Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

Russ Roberts talks with Hoover Institution and NYU political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita about his theory of political power--how dictators and democratically elected leaders respond to the political forces that keep them in office. This lengthy and intense conversation covers a wide range of topics including the evil political genius of Lenin, the dark side of US foreign aid, the sinister machinations of King Leopold of Belgium, the natural resource curse, the British monarchy in the 11th century, term limits and the inevitable failure of the standard methods of fighting world poverty.

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Readings and Links related to this podcast

Podcast Readings HIDE READINGS
About Political Economy and the economic way of thinking about politics and politicians: Political Behavior by Richard Stroup James M. Buchanan: The creation of public choice theory. Economic Insights 8(2). (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas) About King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909; assumed the throne 1865) Biography of King Leopold II at Nationmaster.com. See also the biography of King Leopold II at Wikipedia for a popular perspective. Q: Was King Leopold II the benevolent early constitutional monarch he's often portrayed as, motivated by an enlightened knowledge of economic principles, or was he motivated and constrained by personal, financial, and political gains as presented to him at the time, gains that left a legacy of corruption which persist today in the Congo from when he monarchically owned it? Weigh and consider these contemporary economic views and resources that were available to Leopold II: King Leopold I's endorsement of Friedrich List from Lalor's Cyclopedia of Political Science. King Leopold I, father to King Leopold II, set an interesting stage for his son by promoting and implementing the views of Friedrich List. List was the author of The National System of Political Economy, an 1841 pro-colonialism, anti-free-trade, consciously anti-Adam-Smith work that codified political arguments against free trade—views that persist today. See these contrasting original sources: Adam Smith on colonialism: Of Colonies Friedrich List on colonialism: The Manufacturing Power and Navigation, Naval Power and Colonisation Did Leopold II repudiate his father's views or instantiate them? [—Econlib Editor] About Foreign Aid: Aid and the Resource Curse by Tim Harford and Michael Klein. World Bank policy paper number 291. Discusses foreign aid as a cause of the "resource curse." Can Foreign Aid Buy Growth? by William Easterly, About the Natural Resource Curse: The Paradox of Plenty. The Economist 20 December 2005. Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner. NBER Working Paper No. 5398. The seminal paper of this literature. Bruce's recent book: The Logic of Political Survival, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James D. Morrow. MIT Press. Also available at Amazon.

Podcast Readings

About Political Economy and the economic way of thinking about politics and politicians:

Political Behavior by Richard Stroup
James M. Buchanan: The creation of public choice theory. Economic Insights 8(2). (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

About King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909; assumed the throne 1865)

Biography of King Leopold II at Nationmaster.com. See also the biography of King Leopold II at Wikipedia for a popular perspective.

King Leopold I's endorsement of Friedrich List from Lalor's Cyclopedia of Political Science. King Leopold I, father to King Leopold II, set an interesting stage for his son by promoting and implementing the views of Friedrich List. List was the author of The National System of Political Economy, an 1841 pro-colonialism, anti-free-trade, consciously anti-Adam-Smith work that codified political arguments against free trade—views that persist today.
See these contrasting original sources:
- Adam Smith on colonialism: Of Colonies
- Friedrich List on colonialism: The Manufacturing Power and Navigation, Naval Power and Colonisation
Did Leopold II repudiate his father's views or instantiate them? [—Econlib Editor]

About Foreign Aid:

Aid and the Resource Curse by Tim Harford and Michael Klein. World Bank policy paper number 291. Discusses foreign aid as a cause of the "resource curse."
Can Foreign Aid Buy Growth? by William Easterly,

About the Natural Resource Curse:

The Paradox of Plenty. The Economist 20 December 2005.
Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner. NBER Working Paper No. 5398. The seminal paper of this literature.

Bruce's recent book:

The Logic of Political Survival, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James D. Morrow. MIT Press. Also available at Amazon.

Featured Speakers and Categories: Bruce Bueno de Mesquita on Public Choice

Posted by Russ Roberts

Top of page/Podcast info | Latest Comment [No. 6]

Comments (6)

Lauren wrote:

Don't miss these insightful comments

Brian Micklethwait on King Leopold II of Belgium, at
Samizdata.net

Lars Smith on foreign aid at Conservation Finance

--Econlib Editor, taking note of some of the best of trackbacks and comments on other websites

Posted on August 17, 2006 06:54 AM

sa wrote:

this was an excellent podcast. loved it.

Posted on August 21, 2006 09:17 AM

Stuart Berman wrote:

Very insightful podcast. There is so much thought provoking content it needs to be listened to several times especially when considering how this theory could be applied to foreign policy.

Posted on August 22, 2006 10:16 PM

Arnold Kriegbaum wrote:

This is riveting. This is why I wade through a couple dozen podcasts, because I every so often am shown a kernal of new insight that changes my thinking about how the world works.

By the end, Russ seems rather depressed about the implications for humanity, as if being reminded of a high school date that went very badly. Still, I would bet that while the coalitions of control etc. are not new ideas to economists, they were very new to me.

Thank you for this excellent podcast, which proves that there is huge value in all the energy put into this computer stuff.

Posted on August 27, 2006 11:38 AM

Isaac Crawford wrote:

A great podcast. Thought provoking and gave me a new way of thinking about things. Studying political economy is one of the surest ways to make one cynical and/or libertarian minded. Thanks for the great info!

Isaac

Posted on September 4, 2006 10:43 AM

Erik Guffy wrote:

Fascinating podcast. Cheers to Roberts and Bueno de Mesquita.

Posted on September 5, 2006 07:23 PM

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