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The Origins of Political Order:From Prehuman Times to theFrench RevolutionBy Francis Fukuyama

farrar, Straus and

Giroux, 2011US$35; 608 pagesISBN-13: 9780374227340

In 1989, Francis Fukuyamaargued in The End of Historythat mankinds universal

desire or modernisation wouldinevitably oster a desire orliberal democracy. Coincidingwith the end o the ColdWar, this ess ay and

the subsequent bookcaught the zeitgeist andestablished Fukuyamaas one o the worldsmost inuential politicalthinkers. Occasionally,he has ventured beyondthe ivory tower to oerpractical advice, at onestage cooperating withAusAid towards state

building in the Paciic Islands.While his dis tinct ion wastarnished in the eyes o someby his association with neo-conservatism, Fukuyama maywel l re-establi sh his authoritywith the release o the irstvolume o his new tome, TheOrigins of Political Order.

Given the persistence oconlict and poverty in theworld, attempting to understand

the political order required orsocial and economic developmentis unquestionably a worthyalthough highly ambitious goal.However, with a proessionalreputation straddling anthro-pology, sociology, history,political science and economics,Fukuyamas multi-disciplinaryapproach allows him to provide

a unique theory on what makesor stable and well-unctioningsocieties. In doing so, his bookpays homage to his late mentorSamuel Huntington, best known

as the author o The Clash of Civilizations, and also the authoro Political Order in ChangingSocieties.

The commonly accepted viewo how political order arises(known as Whig history) beginswith the Athenian city-state andollows on to the Roman Empire,Magna Carta, the IndustrialRevolution, and Americas

ounding athers.

Fukuyama is criticalo this narrowlyocused doctrine andthe implication thatthere can be only onesequence to buildingstable, accountablestates. Focusing onlyon successul politicalevolution similarly ailsto provide a proper

understanding o how theseparate elements o politicalorder respond to one anotherand external actors in individualcircumstance, resulting sometimesin political order and sometimesin political decay. Similarhistorical episodes such asEnglands Magna Carta and theless well-known Golden Bull inHungary produced dierentoutcomes.

To explain this, Fukuyama digsdeep beyond history to studythe origins o social hierarchyamong apes and early humans.Humans, he argues, are by naturesocial beings, and subordinationis ingrained behaviour necessaryor establishing workable socialunits. Grouping initially takesplace at a kin level, but conuence

o circumstancesuch asoverpopulation, conlict orcommon resources, and thenecessity o protection rom aoreign common enemycan

override kin ailiation and orcedisparate groups to cooperate anddevelop rom amily to tribal andultimately state-level organisation.According to Fukuyama, theirst modern state to emerge isQin Chin (circa 221 BC), whichnotably developed a meritocraticcivil service and conscriptionbased army.

The case o Qin China alsodemonstrates how centralisation

under the state can be reversed.Moreover, statehood is only oneelement o political order, theother two being rule o law andpolitical accountability, each owhich is examined in the book.

At times, The Origins of PoliticalOrderreads like a textbook andyet is accessible or those whodont know their Qin rom theirMing. Each chapter begins with

catchy descriptions o the contentto ollow, such as How EnglishCommon Law was based onroyal power or Why absolutismtriumphed more completely inRussia than in other parts oEurope.

Along the way, Fukuyamarecounts how the institutiona-lisation o the Catholic Churchled to a normative legal order andchecks on sovereigns absolutism,

and how Latin Americas currentlack o political accountabilitycan be traced to the inherentand concealed weakness osixteenth-century Spain. Towardsthe end o the book, Fukuyamabegins linking these to his overalltheory with practical applications.

Fukuyama candidly pointsout the uncomortable act that

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external threats have otendriven nation-building, andhow this sits awkwardly withmodern development theoryprescriptions. Reassuringly,

societies can arrive at politicalorder via dierent paths, whichhe leetingly illustrates withreerence to Denmark andSouth Korea. Writing aboutauthoritarianism in thecontemporary Middle East,Fukuyama tantalisingly suggeststhat rule o law need not beincompatible with Islam andthat current political order(or lack o it) in the Middle

East is a result o the regionsinteraction with the Westand subsequent transition tomodernity. One hopes andexpects these topics will berevisited in the next volume.

A proper asses sment oFukuyamas work is only possibleater the second volume ispublished. Even or a heavyweightlike Fukuyama, attempting such

a big project inevitably risksacademic overreach. While hisnarrative is well-written andseems persuasive, as somewhato a dilettante, your reviewercannot respond authoritativelyto Fukuyamas account o Indiasrevival under the Guptas, nor hiscritique o Weber and Hayek.

The books accessibility, togetherwith his kudos, means Fukuyamasviews will likely be instructive or

those making policies on statebuilding, rule o law, and politicalaccountability. For their part,one hopes that academics willput aside any indignation atFukuyamas encroachment intotheir specialist feld and respondconstructively to correct orfne-tune his theories. Academicsand policymakers aside, anyonewith an interest in history and

political science will gain a moreinsightul understanding o thepast and present rom readingthis book. WatchingThe Tudorswillnever be the same.

Reviewed by Joel Malan

Economics for LifeBy Ian Harper

Acorn Press, Melbourne, 2011$29.99; 174 pagesISBN 9780908284955

Ienjoyed reading Ian Harpersbook, but evaluating it as

a reviewer means decidingwhat kind o book it is. The bookincludes an excellenthistorical overview othe Australian economy(chapter 4) but is nota work o proessionaleconomic history. Thereare clear and perceptivecomments on economicrationality, positive and

normative economics,and ethical rameworksor economists (especially inchapters 2 and 3), but it is nota work o economic methodology.Nor is it a work on public policy,though a large part o the bookis devoted to Harpers advisoryroles in inancial regulation,including the 1997 WallisInquiry (chapter 6), and settingminimum wages as Fair Pay

Commissioner rom 200609(chapter 5). It is not the politicaltract that those who describeHarper as a conservative, right-wing religious zealot might haveexpected, though he certainlyhighlights markets as an engineo wealth creation. These readers,expecting a certain sort opolitical tract, would be surprisedto discover Harpers discussion

on dealing with aluence(chapter 9). Nor is it a standardautobiography. It is best categorisedas an apologia, along the lines oJohn Henry NewmansApologia

Pro Vita Sua(1865), respondingto charges o insincerity byCharles Kingsley.

Harper oers an eloquentdeence both o proessionaleconomics and o the Christianaith he ound later in lie. Aswith Newman, who elt he couldbest deend his Catholicism bytelling the story o the evolutiono his religious position,Harpers particular arguments

about economics and Christianaith gain unity and power

rom their contextin the lie journey henarrates, albeit perhapsa retrospective unity.

Harpers proessionaljourney began withstudying economics inQueensland, throughpostgraduate studies at

the Australian NationalUniversity, his irstjob with the Reserve Bank oAustralia, a crucial year atPrinceton University, a Chair atthe University o Melbourne andlater Melbourne Business School,various policy roles, and nowconsulting with Deloitte. There isno trace o sel-indulgenceor sel-congratulation in hisnarrative, rather a thoughtul

account o choices, successes anddisappointments. What comesthrough most strongly is Harperslove o economics as an absorbing,challenging and important subject.

As well as deending economicsagainst critics o the subject,Harpers other purpose is toencourage ellow economists totake a closer look at Christianaith. However, we do not get