Democracy, Liberty and Freedom

Boyes makes an interesting and significant point when he writes:

"Unless very bold steps are considered, marginal steps will not be undertaken. We have to recognize that history is not favorable toward reducing size of government and the welfare state."

This is an assertion worth examining - first are bold steps a condition for marginal action. Stated differently, are stimuli for major action - crisis for example - a necessary condition for marginal steps or actions. This idea would seem to be supported by the work of Robert Higgs - I am thinking here of the ratchett effect he uses to describe the growth of the state. On the other hand, this assertion seems opposed to the emergent and evolutionary development of spontaneous orders. Smith, Hayek and North seem to argue that it is the force of culture and belief that evolve over long periods of time that shape the institutions reflect our beliefs and values. That is, the informal norms that are more important than the formal ones are in fact a result of subjective marginalism and not of large sweeping change.

This is an intriquing question - if a Liberty Fund representative is reading this blog I would think that this would make a great conference topic.

This question was raised at a conference honoring Douglass North at Washington University and treated thoughtfully in a number of papers presented by students of North.

The Moykr paper, in particular, argues for a marginal rather than sweeping process in shaping culture, beliefs and values. All of these papers are accessible and well worth a read.

Click here to access all the papers
http://cniss.wustl.edu/events/2010/11/event-434
The Rules of the Game: What Rules? Which Game?
Kenneth Shepsle, Harvard University

Culture, Institutions, and Modern Growth

Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University

The New Institutionalism

Robert Bates, Harvard University

Endogenous Institutions: Law as a Coordinating Device

Gillian K. Hadfield, University of Southern California Law and Economics Department and

Barry R. Weingast, Hoover Institution and Departmetn of Political Science, Stanford University

Persistence and Change in Institutions: the Evolution of Douglass C. North

John Joseph Wallis, University of Maryland