15 quotes
It really is a very coherent understanding of these problems.
Human environment across time (2023)
In the late 1970s there was a definite phase transition.
Human environment across time (2023)
Elite numbers, as a result... grow and so does their consumption levels.
Human environment across time (2023)
Since the days of Malthus this... force has been much in discussion.
Human environment across time (2023)
So this is how elite overproduction drives intraelite competition, intraelite conflicts, rise of the counter-elites and then sociopolitical instability.
Human environment across time (2023)
It was not... a prophecy, it was a scientific prediction because there is a specific mechanism on which it was based.
Human environment across time (2023)
Most of the time the crises lead to pretty dire consequences, but there is about 10-15% of cases where the elites manage to pull together, adopt the right set of reforms, and sail the ship of the state through the turbulent waters without major bloodshed.
Human environment across time (2023)
Then... the wages stagnated, or even declined. So what was the reason?
Human environment across time (2023)
Not all of these candidates are wealthy in their own right. Many of the newly wealthy... instead of running themselves... fund other individuals.
Human environment across time (2023)
GDP per capita shows no break in the 1970s. It slowed down... around the financial crisis of 2007–2008...
Human environment across time (2023)
[E]ssentially the effect of increasing the number of wealth holders is translated into increased competition for political positions.
Human environment across time (2023)
[T]here are other dimensions. The state fragility and international environment, especially for smaller countries, international environment plays quite a role, but I will focus on the first two.
Human environment across time (2023)
Many of the wealth holders... aim to translate their economic power into political power... [A]nother measure is the cost of winning ...has been growing also, showing a greater demand for these positions and greater willingness to spend money...
Human environment across time (2023)
What about elite overproduction? ...By elites I mean the small percentage of population that concentrates social power in their hands. ...[I]t's a neutral definition. It's neither good nor bad. They're simply power holders.
Human environment across time (2023)
There are multiple lines of evidence that show that the influence from the Soviet Union... By the way, also from Nazi Germany during the 1930s. Those were, in fact, important influences on the Roosevelt administration in... designing an equitable system.
Human environment across time (2023)