The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty

Featuring Daron Acemoglu, Coauthor and Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; with comments by John Nye, Professor of Economics, George Mason University; moderated by Ian Vásquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute.
📷What does it take for liberty to emerge and to flourish? Daron Acemoglu will explain how, from antiquity to the modern age, the strong have tended to dominate the weak because states are too strong and despotic or because violence and lawlessness arise in their absence. Achieving liberty requires a constant struggle between the state and society that strikes a balance between the elite and citizens, and between institutions and norms. Acemoglu will draw from history to discuss how and under what conditions societies have gained freedoms, maintained them, or lost them. John Nye will critique Acemoglu’s views on the emergence and continuance of liberty.
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[@usenlim]

Daron Acemoglu is perhaps the most important political economist in the world in our time. Yet almost no one hear his lecture? Hongkongers? South Africans? I don't get how people spend their time.

[@larrykemet6709]

I am from South Africa I read Acemoglu and Robinsons books . why nation fail is my favourite

[@giveussomevodka]

I really like Daron Acemoglu. He is like the Platonic form of "centrism", rather than the crutch that the term is often used for. All economic theory is political, and politics is the art of the possible. We should always go for pragmatic compromises over idealistic extremes.

[@AP-qs2gx]

saying always choosing the centre make it dogmatic too. And idealism of centrism. I think Daron is not very original and I don't like things when I see them borrowed from someone especially if not properly explained why. Just because an answer becomes a standard and popular doesn't make it true.

[@freddiemercury5659]

Daron Acemoglu is not a centrist by any means

[@lkrnpk]

John Nye was completely correct taking into account Russian war in Ukraine, how perceived weakness of especially Europe but also USA with its internal squabbles encouraged Russia to attack. Military matters.

[@SKD1947]

Elegantly written and gripping read 😊

[@bearbearcutecute]

I can't reconcile the fact that the presumably benevolent "Shackled Leviathan" of the Industrial West had initiated the opium trade and launched the Opium War against the presumably nefarious "Despotic Leviathan" of the Qing China in the latter's Century of Humiliation. In other words, the "Narrow Corridor" is dependent on the leaders' outlook on the common good and their sponsors' interests, regardless of the form of the Leviathan - absent, despotic or shackled.

[@meowmeowfood]

I don't think you've understood his central point. Liberty, under his frame work, is not some switch you turn on, but a process a society undertakes. So when he state that the U.K had only just started the process in the 1800s then of course such a state is still capable of acting with such malignance. Much like when I start the process of becoming physically fit, of course, the very next day I may still indulge here and there but that need not entirely remove me from the corridor.

[@bearbearcutecute]

@@meowmeowfood Your narrative still reverts to my argument about the 'Narrow Corridor' being dependent upon the leaders and their teams. Liberty is merely a buzzword to numb the masses (refer to Lawrence Wilkerson's and Sibel Edmonds' takes on USA's Colour Revolution and the destabilization of Xinjiang with falsehoods). At the end of the day, economic growth and stability take precedence and a good leader should take care of his people first and foremost, regardless of his political leaning. The word is 'pragmatic', not 'populistic'.

[@meowmeowfood]

@@bearbearcutecute The narrow corridor is not about any individual, but the institutions they govern over. Liberty here, although sure a poor choice, is to describe the relatively unprecedented times we live in. As mentioned, states were either non-existent and hence could not protect their citizens or were completely tyrannical and unaccountable. The fact that we can rely on states in the modern age to do so much yet more or less leave us alone is pretty crazy when you look at history. Wait your prescription seems to contradict you. Was not the opium wars started purely so that the U.K could more or less extract wealth from China for its people?

[@bearbearcutecute]

@@meowmeowfood Political institutions are always about the humans behind them and cannot be discussed separately. With regard to the pernicious opium trade initiated by the 'Shackled Leviathan' UK, there's no hint of common good / pragmatism / altruism (liberty again) but populism in the act. Well, still reverting to my points above. Don't you think so?

[@meowmeowfood]

@@bearbearcutecute I think the power of institutions is that they emerge as something in and of themselves. For example, the most recent U.S election. Yes, you and I can both agree that the U.S is heavily flawed, but despite all of the individuals within the Trump administration that would have benefited from going along with his election lie, no one of influence that could have tipped the scales did. I think institutions have emergent properties that go beyond the individual. time is the factor here. Yes, what the U.K did was hugely exploitative but moves such as these are becoming less and less palatable as institutions become more democratic. We like to say that occupations seen in Iraq or Afghanistan are horrible, but that's because we forget how horrible those of the 1700s until the mid 1900s were.

[@GoyaGokou]

1:14:34

[@eorobinson3]

Absolutely, good call.

[@returningcomposure9950]

Is liberty stable, when none had this, no, when some had this, more, when even more had this, even more. Is order stable, when none had this, no, when some had this, more, when even more had this, even more. Choose something, possibly both, if not, the rule is fear.

[@bsumru7]

Loved this comment. Can I tweet it?

[@onelegkahn]

@ 0:46 Slavery?

[@godfreyassenga9958]

43:00 I submit to you that Britain's insane rise in "revenue" was largely in part to slavery and looting in Africa. It's documented.

[@Pyryp2]

The colonies cost more than they produced. I'd suggest industrialisation had more to do with it.

[@katarishigusimokirochepona6611]

@@Pyryp2 Seems like a clever way to get out of paying reparations (“we did all this evil but we LOST money, mate!”), but I’m open to being convinced otherwise.

[@katarishigusimokirochepona6611]

Britain, Spain, the Netherlands...all the imperial powers made money, the interesting part is that some managed to keep a hold on it and also generate new wealth. The structures that enabled this are still interesting, even though they had a great deal of war and plunder at their root.

[@Pyryp2]

@@katarishigusimokirochepona6611 Why would it be necessary to pay reparations? Saying this as a Finn who'd definitely be entitled to some from Russia and Sweden if we started going that route. As for the colonial powers becoming rich off their colonial holdings. That is probably the case for the Dutch who were much more mercantile about it. I'd believe it for Spain as well but they treated the natives (the ones that allied with them that is) well anyway so who cares. Not to mention that the colonial empire has nothing to do with their present day wealth since it was squandered in continental politics before our time. But the English definitely spent more money running the empire than they gained. Sure some companies and individuals enriched themselves, but that didn't extend to the crown.

[@weedlover9]

@@Pyryp2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3TKc4R8nbZ6nJI

[@hassanrajput9576]

Authoritarian populism

[@MoonChildMedia]

I have no agreement with an apologist for the most evil entity that has ever existed.

[@acphantom6437]

What are you talking about