The top takes over

Daron Acemoglu was the guest yesterday on the NPR program On Point, hosted by Tom Ashbrook. Acemoglu is the author of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. The On Point webpage includes an hour long video of Acemoglu (which I didn't watch) and the first chapter of the book (which I did read). It is also possible to listen to the show (which I heard parts of).

Acemoglu studied the rise and fall of nations and civilizations through history. One example used was Venice. It rose in power in the 10th Century and became a mighty force around the Mediterranean. It lost power in the 13th Century. I've heard it was because others found new trade routes to the Orient that Venice didn't control. Acemoglu has a different take. While Venice's fortunes rose, the whole population contributed in the effort and shared in the wealth. But after a time those at the top changed the rules so that more of the wealth came their way and less of it went to the rest of the population. They took over or bought the government so that it worked only for them. Those at the bottom had less incentive to contribute their mental and physical talents. Innovation slowed. The more the money flowed to the top the more overall power Venice lost.

Acemoglu has seen this time and again. There are two outcomes. The first is the nation collapses. The second is the general populace strengthens public institutions preventing the takeover by the top.

Sound familiar yet?

Acemoglu's solution is that all citizens must become active to protect the community.

Speaking of which…

The reports on the Occupy Wall Street blog say that the New York Police have become brutal in trying to dismantle the various Occupy demonstrations. The police brutally clean out one park and the occupiers assemble in another. The occupier's say, every time you beat us, we attract sympathizers and we grow. You can't win.

While this posting (and others) speaks of brutality I am aware this is all on the Occupy Wall Street website, so I'm only getting one side of the story. I have not watched any of the videos or livestreams. And it appears major news sources are not reporting on these events.