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Production Versus Plunder
History opens itself to you in this book. By following the central conflict of human history (production versus plunder), the rise and fall of human civilizations become understandable. The truth is that the battles and names that most of us learn in school are never connected to their most basic causes, and therefore never really fit together into an understandable whole. In this book, however, they do. When history comes together into a coherent story, quite a few surprises can be seen, such as the fact that the Sumerians did not create the first They destroyed it. Or, that Athens did not create the Golden Age of the They ended it. As you proceed through this engrossing narrative, you'll find some troubling facts about the modern world as well; such as the fact that the workers of the world have indeed been robbed, but not by capitalists, and that the Rule of Law actually ended two centuries ago. And then, the conclusion that Western Civilization is nearly doomed. It was never too hard to understand – they just told you the wrong story. (270 Pages) Preface 1 What Is Man? 2 Civilization Is Created and Overrun 3 Classical Civilization 4 Plato’s Empire 5 The Turning Point 6 Western Civilization Forms 7 The Quickening Of The 17th Century 8 The American Revolution 9 The Industrial Surprise 10 The Decline Of Western Civilization 11 A Chance For Renewal 12 The Two Futures
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319 pages, Kindle Edition
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 23, 2018
Thoughtful Analysis of History with Actionable Recommendations
This is an amazing breadth of work spanning the last ice age up to the present. The author's respect for the past and his appreciation that earlier generations were not defective somehow is refreshing. "They are us and we are them" is a useful idea to keep before us while examining history.
This work expands on the premise that the optimal conditions for mankind rise and fall based on the ascendency or decline of the individual versus the collective. The "decentralized versus the centralized."
Balint Vazsonyi’s "America's 30 Years War" described this phenomenon as Franco-Germanic versus Anglo-American and Leonard Peikoff's "The Ominous Parallels" correctly saw it as Platonic versus Aristotelian. This author acknowledges the same intellectual currents but goes back to the earliest post ice age civilizations and finds the same processes already in play.
Equally interesting are the author's markers to trace the current trajectory of Western Civilization and his specific recommendations for personal actions to free oneself from the myths and illusions of the collective and to begin to live as a responsible yet fully free man.
This is an amazing breadth of work spanning the last ice age up to the present. The author's respect for the past and his appreciation that earlier generations were not defective somehow is refreshing. "They are us and we are them" is a useful idea to keep before us while examining history.
This work expands on the premise that the optimal conditions for mankind rise and fall based on the ascendency or decline of the individual versus the collective. The "decentralized versus the centralized."
Balint Vazsonyi’s "America's 30 Years War" described this phenomenon as Franco-Germanic versus Anglo-American and Leonard Peikoff's "The Ominous Parallels" correctly saw it as Platonic versus Aristotelian. This author acknowledges the same intellectual currents but goes back to the earliest post ice age civilizations and finds the same processes already in play.
Equally interesting are the author's markers to trace the current trajectory of Western Civilization and his specific recommendations for personal actions to free oneself from the myths and illusions of the collective and to begin to live as a responsible yet fully free man.
October 13, 2017
An important book for our time. Paul Rosenberg writes simply and clearly and is a joy to read.
The earliest remains after the most recent ice-age show that humans lived as hunter-gatherers.
Agriculture was discovered. Settled farming communities developed in which farmers were able to produce surpluses. Cities grew up, job specialisation emerged, and civilisation developed.
Groups which had not adopted farming now lived as nomads wandering with their flocks to wherever good grazing was to be found. They supplemented their income by raiding settled communities. From this it was but a small step to moving in and ruling the settled population.
Hence from the beginning civilised society has comprised "producers" and "plunderers". The rulers live by taxing the producers. They justify this by pointing to the services they provide such as defence and city infrastructure.
In some situations states develop into empires by attacking and looting neighbouring states. There comes a point at which the cost of maintaining the boundaries of the empire exceeds what can be extracted from the public in taxes. At this point the empire collapses and civilisation enters a Dark Age. Rosenberg gives examples from Sumer, Greece and Rome when bankruptcy made it no longer possible to defend the empire.
To rule in the longer term rulers need to be accepted by their subjects. The author outlines the various ways in which this is done using religion, education, entertainment, welfare, nationalism and patriotism. When these methods cease to be effective the state uses the threat of force and actual force.
Today's universal surveillance is a powerful new tool in the hands of rules to ensure the compliance of the masses, but its effectiveness from the ruler's point of view is being eroded by the emergence of multi-national corporations, international networks of bankers, international NGO's.
The sobering conclusion is that, at present, the individual has very little chance of escaping from this modern serfdom though he does a few hopeful signs.
This book provides a brilliant introduction to an understanding of the modern world.
This book is an essential read for all who are concerned about the direction the world is taking.
The earliest remains after the most recent ice-age show that humans lived as hunter-gatherers.
Agriculture was discovered. Settled farming communities developed in which farmers were able to produce surpluses. Cities grew up, job specialisation emerged, and civilisation developed.
Groups which had not adopted farming now lived as nomads wandering with their flocks to wherever good grazing was to be found. They supplemented their income by raiding settled communities. From this it was but a small step to moving in and ruling the settled population.
Hence from the beginning civilised society has comprised "producers" and "plunderers". The rulers live by taxing the producers. They justify this by pointing to the services they provide such as defence and city infrastructure.
In some situations states develop into empires by attacking and looting neighbouring states. There comes a point at which the cost of maintaining the boundaries of the empire exceeds what can be extracted from the public in taxes. At this point the empire collapses and civilisation enters a Dark Age. Rosenberg gives examples from Sumer, Greece and Rome when bankruptcy made it no longer possible to defend the empire.
To rule in the longer term rulers need to be accepted by their subjects. The author outlines the various ways in which this is done using religion, education, entertainment, welfare, nationalism and patriotism. When these methods cease to be effective the state uses the threat of force and actual force.
Today's universal surveillance is a powerful new tool in the hands of rules to ensure the compliance of the masses, but its effectiveness from the ruler's point of view is being eroded by the emergence of multi-national corporations, international networks of bankers, international NGO's.
The sobering conclusion is that, at present, the individual has very little chance of escaping from this modern serfdom though he does a few hopeful signs.
This book provides a brilliant introduction to an understanding of the modern world.
This book is an essential read for all who are concerned about the direction the world is taking.
March 10, 2024
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 societies 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.
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I originally published this review on my Substack The Unhedged Capitalist - check out that article to read this review with images and better formatting...
https://theunhedgedcapitalist.substac...
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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 exploitative 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.
Paul Rosenberg deftly guides us through the anals of history, as societies 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.
----------
I originally published this review on my Substack The Unhedged Capitalist - check out that article to read this review with images and better formatting...
https://theunhedgedcapitalist.substac...
----------
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 exploitative 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.
June 22, 2018
Excellent book, extremely clear and easy to read. Puts economics into a form that most people could understand without difficult and brings today's world into perspective from a viewpoint of understanding how we got here and where we could end up.
Read
February 4, 2017Ok. Gets a bit preachy toward the end, but not too bad. Good, light over view of history.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews