Absolutism Analysis in Why Nations Fail

Absolutist political systems concentrate power instead of distributing it broadly to different people, groups, and institutions throughout society. The opposite of absolutism is pluralism.

Absolutism Quotes in Why Nations Fail

The Why Nations Fail quotes below are all either spoken by Absolutism or refer to Absolutism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Global Inequality and Economic Growth Theme Icon

The process of political centralization can actually lead to a form of absolutism, as the king and his associates can crush other powerful groups in society. This is indeed one of the reasons why there will be opposition against state centralization, as we saw in chapter 3. However, in opposition to this force, the centralization of state institutions can also mobilize demand for a nascent form of pluralism, as it did in Tudor England. When the barons and local elites recognize that political power will be increasingly more centralized and that this process is hard to stop, they will make demands to have a say in how this centralized power is used. […] The Tudor project not only initiated political centralization, one pillar of inclusive institutions, but also indirectly contributed to pluralism, the other pillar of inclusive institutions.

Related Characters: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 186-187

Explanation and Analysis:

The Industrial Revolution created a critical juncture that affected almost every country. Some nations, such as England, not only allowed, but actively encouraged, commerce, industrialization, and entrepreneurship, and grew rapidly. Many, such as the Ottoman Empire, China, and other absolutist regimes, lagged behind as they blocked or at the very least did nothing to encourage the spread of industry. Political and economic institutions shaped the response to technological innovation, creating once again the familiar pattern of interaction between existing institutions and critical junctures leading to divergence in institutions and economic outcomes.

Related Characters: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 215

Explanation and Analysis:

In England there was a long history of absolutist rule that was deeply entrenched and required a revolution to remove it. In the United States and Australia, there was no such thing. Though Lord Baltimore in Maryland and John Macarthur in New South Wales might have aspired to such a role, they could not establish a strong enough grip on society for their plans to bear fruit. The inclusive institutions established in the United States and Australia meant that the Industrial Revolution spread quickly to these lands and they began to get rich. The path these countries took was followed by colonies such as Canada and New Zealand.

Related Characters: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 282

Explanation and Analysis:

The leaders of the French Revolution and, subsequently, Napoleon exported the revolution to these lands, destroying absolutism, ending feudal land relations, abolishing guilds, and imposing equality before the law—the all-important notion of rule of law, which we will discuss in greater detail in the next chapter. The French Revolution thus prepared not only France but much of the rest of Europe for inclusive institutions and the economic growth that these would spur.

Related Characters: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (speaker), Napoleon Bonaparte

Page Number and Citation: 291

Explanation and Analysis:

The rule of law is not imaginable under absolutist political institutions. It is a creation of pluralist political institutions and of the broad coalitions that support such pluralism. It’s only when many individuals and groups have a say in decisions, and the political power to have a seat at the table, that the idea that they should all be treated fairly starts making sense. By the early eighteenth century, Britain was becoming sufficiently pluralistic, and the Whig elites would discover that, as enshrined in the notion of the rule of law, laws and institutions would constrain them, too.

Related Characters: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (speaker), The Whig Party

Page Number and Citation: 306

Explanation and Analysis:

Absolutism Term Timeline in Why Nations Fail

The timeline below shows where the term Absolutism appears in Why Nations Fail. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that politics—society’s way of governing itself—determines whether a nation creates inclusive or extractive economic institutions. Absolutist political institutions, which concentrate unlimited power in the hands of a single ruler or a... (full context)

...situation made the king and aristocracy extremely wealthy. It was possible because of the Kongo’s absolutist political system, which the king defended with his personal army. He would have lost most... (full context)

...King Leopold II took over the Congo in the 1800s, he created an even more absolutist system with more extractive economic institutions. And after the Congo became independent in 1960, Mobutu... (full context)

History and Institutional Change Theme Icon

...Industrial Revolution’s technologies and thus achieved rapid economic growth. England, France, and Spain were similarly absolutist in 1588, but England’s monarchy was uniquely reliant on taxation, which gave Parliament significant power... (full context)

...profitable transatlantic slave trade encouraged African states like the Kingdom of Kongo to build extremely absolutist institutions, deny property rights, and wage a constant war on their people. This further fragmented... (full context)

Diversity, Pluralism, and Empowerment Theme Icon

For similar reasons, Asian countries struggled to build inclusive institutions in the 19th century. Absolutist Chinese monarchies halted commerce as soon as creative destruction threatened their power. In India, the... (full context)

The Ottoman Empire set up absolutist, highly extractive institutions throughout the Middle East. It wasn’t as highly centralized as other empires... (full context)

...inequality is that, in the 1600s in present-day Bushong territory, the king Shyaam created the absolutist, extractive Kuba Kingdom. Shyaam imposed new farming techniques that doubled food production, and he forced... (full context)

...28 BC, after a series of civil wars, Octavian (or Augustus Caesar) formally created the absolutist Roman Empire, which gradually destroyed the Republic’s somewhat inclusive political institutions. (full context)

...institutional changes in Europe, they didn’t in Ethiopia. Meanwhile, the rest of Africa remained predominantly absolutist, especially as the slave trade gave leaders more and more power. Similarly, from the initial... (full context)

...and took all land and power away from the Church. State centralization can lead to absolutism if leaders manage to keep all the power, but it can also lead to pluralism... (full context)

...I, circumvented this by establishing several monopolies on international trade. He also implemented several other absolutist policies. (full context)

...against Parliament. Charles I and the monopoly owners who supported him wanted to create an absolutist state, while the Parliamentarians and their supporters wanted more pluralistic institutions. The Parliamentarians won and... (full context)

...call or disband the army. Informally, William ceded many more powers to Parliament. This ended absolutism in England. Because Parliament’s interests were mainly commercial, it strongly protected property rights and dedicated... (full context)

The Glorious Revolution was possible because of a longstanding conflict between absolutists and pluralists—who wanted to transform institutions, not just take them over. Due to small institutional... (full context)

...the Atlantic, created vibrant industries in British port cities, and used their wealth to fight absolutism. Crucially, since many different groups banded together to fight the monarchy, once they won, they... (full context)

...these decisions led nations to different economic outcomes. Two kinds of societies resisted industrialization. First, absolutist regimes that depended on extractive economic institutions, like the Ottoman and Russian Empires, fought industrialization... (full context)

...it also threatens less powerful elites because it can give leaders the chance to impose absolutism. (full context)

...the section “A Small Difference That Mattered,” Acemoglu and Robinson explain how Spain became more absolutist over time. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand married and merged their kingdoms, and then their... (full context)

However, the Spanish empire’s increasingly absolutist and extractive institutions led to economic decline. Ferdinand, Isabella, and their descendants expelled Jewish and... (full context)

Spain’s institutions were more extractive than England’s because they were more absolutist: the Spanish Cortes (or Parliament) was much weaker than England’s and primarily represented elites in... (full context)

...inclusive institutions. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was run by the House of Habsburg, was extremely absolutist. It gave merchants virtually no economic power, and its society was still based on serfdom. (full context)

The Habsburg leaders all made the state much more centralized and absolutist. Without a parliament or constitution, they had absolute power over everything in their domain. They... (full context)

Meanwhile, Russia was just as absolutist as Austria-Hungary. It was also based on a brutal system of serfdom, in which landlords... (full context)

...and Robinson note that China and the Ottoman Empire also resisted industrialization because of their absolutist and extractive institutions. By the Song dynasty (960-1279), China was highly technologically advanced compared to... (full context)

In “The Absolutism of Prester John,” Acemoglu and Robinson cite Abyssinia (or Ethiopia) as another example of long-lived... (full context)

...per year, which gave farmers no incentive to care for it. Thus, Ethiopia was extremely absolutist and extractive—even more so than Eastern Europe. In the mid-1800s, Emperor Tewodros II tried to... (full context)

...societies give their citizens incentives to innovate, but most don’t, whether because of extractive institutions, absolutist rulers who fear creative destruction, or a lack of political centralization. But societies with inclusive... (full context)

...of Melaka in an attempt to monopolize the spice trade. But they failed because several absolutist Southeast Asian city-states were already trading spices. Later, the Dutch invaded the region with the... (full context)

...set up a rum monopoly and a vast sheep and wool industry. But they weren’t absolutists—rather, in order to profit, they had to pay the convicts for their labor and give... (full context)

...section “Breaking the Barriers: The French Revolution,” Acemoglu and Robinson explain that France was an absolutist monarchy from the 1400s to 1789. The clergy and nobility—or First and Second Estates—had special... (full context)

...some territories reversed his reforms, but many didn’t. Thus, French rule actually ended feudalism and absolutism in many parts of Europe, which later allowed inclusive economic institutions and industrialization to flourish. (full context)

...Industrial Revolution. Thus, until the mid-1800s, China and Japan were very similar: they were poor, absolutist, closed to the world, and vulnerable to Western military conquest. But Japan’s shogun was overthrown... (full context)

...extractive colonies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire, absolutists opposed industrialization because they knew that creative destruction would threaten their profits and political power. (full context)

...exported them through military conquest. This allowed much of Western Europe to industrialize very quickly. Absolutist China resisted industrialization, while Japan embraced it after the Meiji Restoration built inclusive institutions. Finally,... (full context)

...It meant the Whigs couldn’t pass laws that violated citizens’ fundamental rights. But historically, under absolutist governments, rule of law was unthinkable: the king and aristocracy would never follow the same... (full context)

...which helps people stop abuses of power and protect inclusive institutions. However, inclusive institutions aren’t invincible—absolutists can still challenge and overthrow them. Fortunately, most of these challengers have failed in countries... (full context)

In fact, when Stevens eliminated the SLPP and created an absolutist one-party dictatorship, he simply followed the British model of extractive institutions. For instance, the British... (full context)

...Oligarchy,” Acemoglu and Robinson explain how the Derg, a left-wing military group, overthrew Ethiopia’s traditional, absolutist emperor in 1974. The Derg began arresting and executing government officials and nationalizing private property,... (full context)

In the short section “The New Absolutism,” Acemoglu and Robinson explain how, in 2009, the North Korean government reformed its currency and... (full context)

...North Korea, and Myanmar could become more inclusive, or they could stay highly extractive and absolutist. (full context)

Absolutism Term Analysis

Absolutism Quotes in Why Nations Fail

Absolutism Term Timeline in Why Nations Fail