The invention of power : popes, kings, and the birth of the West

Title:

Personal Author:

Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, 1946- author.

ISBN:

9781541768758

Physical Description:

viii, 337 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Contents:

Exceptionalism -- Two swords, one church -- The concordat game -- Secularism surges -- The road to prosperity -- The road to Papal serfdom and liberation -- The birth of states, the birthing of representative democracy -- Today.

Abstract:

"This book solves one of the great puzzles of history: why did the West become the most powerful civilization in the world? Political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita explains the consolidation of power in the West through a single, little noticed event: the 1132 Concordat of Worms. Bueno de Mesquita makes a deeply researched and persuasive case that the Concordat changed the terms of competition between churches and nation-states, incentivizing economic growth and benefiting citizens over kings and popes. In the centuries since, those countries that have had similar arrangements have been consistently better off than those that did not"-- Provided by publisher.

Title Subject:

Concordat of Worms (1122 September 23)

Subject Term:

Civilization, Western -- Christian influences.

Church and state -- Europe, Western -- History.

Exceptionalism -- Europe, Western -- History.

Copies:

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Library	Call Number	Material Type	Status
Searching... Southwest Regional Library	909.09821 BU	Book	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In the tradition of Why Nations Fail , this book solves one of the great puzzles of history: Why did the West become the most powerful civilization in the world?

Western exceptionalism--the idea that European civilizations are freer, wealthier, and less violent--is a widespread and powerful political idea. It has been a source of peace and prosperity in some societies, and of ethnic cleansing and havoc in others.

Yet in The Invention of Power , Bruce Bueno de Mesquita draws on his expertise in political maneuvering, deal-making, and game theory to present a revolutionary new theory of Western exceptionalism: that a single, rarely discussed event in the twelfth century changed the course of European and world history. By creating a compromise between churches and nation-states that, in effect, traded money for power and power for money, the 1122 Concordat of Worms incentivized economic growth, facilitated secularization, and improved the lot of the citizenry, all of which set European countries on a course for prosperity. In the centuries since, countries that have had a similar dynamic of competition between church and state have been consistently better off than those that have not.

The Invention of Power upends conventional thinking about European culture, religion, and race and presents a persuasive new vision of world history.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Political scientist Bueno de Mesquita (The Dictator's Handbook) delivers an intriguing, data-based analysis of how three overlooked 12th-century treaties between the Catholic Church and European monarchs set the stage for people in the West to become "freer, richer, more tolerant, more innovative, and happier than people just about anywhere else in the world." Debunking claims that this "Western exceptionalism" is the by-product of Europeans' superior culture or genetics, Bueno de Mesquita traces its roots to the Concordant of Worms, signed by Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V in 1122, and two similar agreements signed by the kings of England and France in 1107. According to Bueno de Mesquita, these agreements, which reformed the "haphazard, highly variable procedures for electing bishops," forced essential adaptations by both institutions, fostered economic growth, empowered ordinary people, and laid fertile ground for democracy. Extensive analysis of the church's hierarchical structure bolsters his theory, as do charts and graphs that illustrate some surprising insights--for example, regions covered by the concordants were likelier to form parliamentary governments in later centuries. Though Bueno de Mesquita shortchanges other factors that contributed to the rise of the West, he builds a solid case. Medieval history buffs will be impressed. (Jan.)

Preface	p. 1
Chapter 1 Exceptionalism	p. 5
Three Treaties About Power and Money Changed Europe	p. 8
Think of Popes and Kings as Self-interested	p. 11
Short-Term Decisions, Lasting Consequences	p. 15
Europe: Unexpected Exceptionalism	p. 17
Europe's Unique Feature	p. 24
Chapter 2 Two Swords, One Church	p. 27
Iconoclasm, the Papal States, and Escape from Constantinople	p. 28
The Birth of Papal Nepotism	p. 30
Papal Maneuvers to Increase Political Power	p. 35
The Struggle over the Investiture of Bishops	p. 39
The Pope's War with the Holy Roman Emperor	p. 47
Chapter 3 The Concordat Game	p. 59
The Terms of the Concordats	p. 60
The Process of Bishop Selection Before the Concordats	p. 73
The Concordat Game	p. 78
Key Implications of the Concordat Game	p. 89
Chapter 4 Secularism Surges	p. 95
The Game's Third Outcome: Avignon and Rebellion Against the Church	p. 96
The Church's Changing Use of Punishment	p. 98
The Secularization of Bishops	p. 104
The Wealth of Dioceses	p. 107
Wealth and the Secularization of Bishops: A First Test	p. 107
Assessing the Expected Costs of Defying the Church	p. 109
Wealthy Sees for Secular Bishops and Poor Sees for Religious Bishops	p. 113
Chapter 5 The Road to Prosperity	p. 119
Maneuvers to Influence Economic Growth	p. 124
Four Lateran Councils: Combating Secular Economic Growth	p. 137
Secular Maneuvers for Growth	p. 151
Growth, Crusades, and the Commercial Revolution	p. 155
Chapter 6 The Road to Papal Serfdom and Liberation	p. 167
Gamble on Bishops, Gamble on Vacant Sees	p. 169
Breaking from the Church: French Wealth and the Avignon Papacy	p. 174
Testing When France Was Ready to Rebel	p. 176
The Church Contemplates Reform; Protestants Rebel	p. 183
Art and the Rise of Secularism	p. 195
Chapter 7 The Birth of States, the Birthing of Representative Democracy	p. 199
The Concordat: A Step Toward Modern Sovereignty	p. 202
War and Accountability	p. 210
War and State Building	p. 216
The Concordats and Accountable States	p. 218
Secularism, Wealth, and Parliaments	p. 230
Rubber Stamps or Real Parliaments	p. 235
Did Parliaments Help or Hurt Monarchs?	p. 238
Chapter 8 Today	p. 253
The Altered Tides of Power	p. 258
The Concordats and Today's Quality of Life	p. 265
Innovation and Discovery	p. 280
Insights for Today	p. 286
Acknowledgments	p. 293
Notes	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 311
Index	p. 321

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Table of Contents