Book review: Production Versus Plunder

A treatise on the evolution of human society, markets and the state

H/t to the inimitable Steve Wilkinson over at Pitchfork Papers for recommending this bit of literature.

I’ve read hundreds of books in the last decade, only a couple dozen of which I could point to and say, “that book changed my life.” Well, today I’m pointing at Production Versus Plunder (henceforth referred to as Plunder) and saying, “that book changed my life.” To summarize the book in a sentence: Plunder describes the formation of complex societies and the state’s role in appropriating the surplus produced by individuals.

Paul Rosenberg deftly guides us through the anals of history, as societys grow, stagnate and collapse. People move, find new ways to thrive and are subsequently exploited by groups seeking the surplus. As we turn the pages of Plunder we discover the modern state in its infancy, the deterioration of freedom, the decay of sclerotic systems as they become shadows of their original greatness.

At first men join together because they share the same ideals, a union makes sense. The sum is greater than the individual parts. Unfortunately, as time passes the original ideals are forgotten, or suppressed, and what remains is force, violence, politics. This is the gist of our current system. An exploititive central state which actively makes worse the life of the average citizen.

Plunder paints a bleak picture for the future of western civilization. Rosenberg does not claim that we are doomed to detonate, however, he does claim that failure is likely. Given the trajectory of the last twenty years, it’s not necessarily a bold claim to make. Centralization is stagnation, decentralization is the solution. Our restoration as a society, if we manage to find it, will come from restoring power to a local level and side-stepping the federal authoritarianism.

The human spirit

Plunder ends with a challenge, why do humans let themselves be ruled? In the earliest societies humans cooperated without a powerful king or tyrannical prince. Were these farmers and self-sufficient men happy when weaponized transients installed themselves as the extractors of surplus? What effect does the oppressive state have on the development and growth of the individual?

“The development of an independent identity is an arduous process; most men are all too happy to take shortcuts.”

For such a powerful book I’m afraid I can’t find much more to say. You’ll need to read Plunder for yourself. It’s short, interesting and highly relevant to the quagmire in which we now find ourselves.