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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! CharlesOlson, was a second generation Americanmodernist poet who was a crucial link betweenearlier figures like Ezra Pound and William CarlosWilliams and the New American poets, a rubric whichincludes the New York School, the Black MountainSchool, the Beat poets, and the San FranciscoRenaissance. Consequently, many postmodern groups,such as the poets of the Language School, includeOlson as a primary and precedent figure. Across theAtlantic, these various poetic movements haveexerted a deep and ongoing influence on an importantarray of alternative and experimental writers,including Roy Fisher, Geoffrey Hill, JH Prynne andEdwin Morgan, behind whose works lurks Olson's ghostof language-driven inventiveness ... Read more

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"Just as the great fighter is looking for the jugular, so thegreat scientist is looking for areas where there can be abreakthrough-for areas where strong claims are in order. Thus I thinkit is a good research strategy to search for stark and simplifyingpropositions.In my career I like to think that I have always donethat. That is certainly the only thing that I want to do."
-MancurOlson

World-renowned economist Mancur Olson was famous for providingsimple but convincing answers to broad economic questions, and equallyfamous for the gusto with which he defended his theories and debatedhis critics. His landmark work The Logic of Collective Action famouslyexplained what now seems almost intuitive-how interest groups arecreated and how they are able to subvert the interests of the largersociety through their detrimental impact on overall economicefficiency.

In Power and Prosperity, which he completed just before his deathlast year, Olson takes on the broadest questions of his career: Why dosome economies perform spectacularly, providing incredible wealth andprosperity, while others fail miserably? How do different forms ofgovernment either hinder or promote economic growth? And, morespecifically: With the collapse of the Soviet system, why have marketsnot flourished?

Olson contends that governments can play an essential role in thedevelopment of markets.Reliable enforcement of private contracts andprotection of individual rights to property depend on governmentsstrong enough to guarantee these rights yet constrained enough not toundermine them. His exploration of "market-augmenting government" willstand as a cutting-edge work on economic growth and provide a usefulframework in which to consider he evolution of governance and economicpolicy in the post-communist world, in post-crisis Asia, and indeed inthe rest of the developing world.

In his writings and teaching since The Logic of Collective Action,Mancur Olson has, by extending economics into the field of politicsand the evolution of institutions, made economics more relevant tomany of the world's problems, bringing rigor and insight to issuesoften dismissed as insoluble on account of "culture" or "lack ofpolitical will." Olson looked behind these issues to understand whysome countries or groups managed to combine successful economic policyand institutional arrangements and others have not yet done so. Powerand Prosperity brings his life's work on these questions to bear onthe challenge that dominates the end of the 20th Century-thetransition to market democracy in countries now exposed to competitionwith economically advanced democratic nations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

The stationary bandit
This work is not as focused or consistent as his prior work, but I had to give it five stars on the strength of the first two chapters alone, which cover how a roving bandit becomes a stationary bandit (Autocrat) and then a democracy, and how these different forms of governance have a progressively more selfish interest in providing public goods and limiting "tax theft".The middle chapters which are aimed at refuting an alternative coaseian bargain theory seem unnecessary.The later chapters discus how Russia managed to survive as a super power as long as it did without a market economy which included some terrifying ways in which Stalin manipulated the tax system to squeeze every last dollar out of the workers.The final chapter identifies individual rights and a lack of coalitions (see Rise and Decline of Nations) as the two conditions needed for a steadily growing economy.

Needed
This book covers aspects of Economics that are only too often neglected.These aspects include how power arrangements affect market efficiency and the effectiveness of markets in meeting consumer demand and providing for propserity.The book also provides accounts of different types of market arangements.In one type of market there is no guarantee other than the honor of the buyer and seller concerning the quality of the product and the terms of payment.Thus the market tends toward basic short term transactions.In the market for which property rights are guaranteed by the social structure, however, market arrangements can be much more complex and much better serve the needs of the people in society.

Power arrangements should be studied in Economics.

And this book should be read by all persons interested in Economics.

Lucid, direct and yet subtle. Quite excellent.
In the "Rise and Decline of Nations" Mancur Olson revealed the teacher in himself with a lucid readable account that left the mathematics in the footnotes. It was one of those books that Samuel Britten would give to his bright nephew who wants to know what it is all about without doing the difficult math (with the exception of some graphs in a later chapter, not difficult to interpret, but which the reader can skim over if they are so inclined, for the argument is clearly stated in the text). The "Rise and Decline of Nations", Mancur Olson's prior book for the greater public, is a hard act to follow, but that he does with this sequel, "Power and Prosperity." And how.

"Power and Prosperity" brings the compelling reasoning of Olson's theories of collective action forward with a lucidity and ease unmatched by any other book I have encountered. And yet he still breaks new ground; the prompting was Olson's observations of the former Soviet Russian Federation's failure to rise above anarchy and to harness the power for free markets for the good of her people. In this book Olson answers the question: Why has Russia failed where the West has succeeded?

Olson's use of language is quite outstanding. He uses no big words where simple words will do. He defines the terms of his essay as he goes. He refers the reader to academic publications for those interested in formal proofs. He does not repeat himself except to remind the reader of the main line of argument, which keeps the whole tight and disciplined, yet easy to read.

This book is very strongly recommended for anyone seeking the synthesis of the big picture and a disciplined logical analysis. self with a lucid readable account that left the mathematics in the footnotes. It was one of those books that Samuel Britten would give to his bright nephew who wants to know what it is all about without doing the difficult bits. The "Rise and Decline of Nations" is a hard act to follow, but that Mancur Olson does with "Power and Prosperity." And how.

Only for economists but not enough
Olson's book is good but only understandable for those with an economics background. If you are not an economist you are going to have trouble understanding what he is trying to say and the concepts he uses across the pages.
For those who have an econ background it is a good book and it provides interesting examples on how economic theory applies to real life, and some of the reasons as to why some economic systems and models do or do not work in reality. However, he seriously lacks some other sociological, demographical, and local aspects of power, prosperity and development; therefore you should not stick only to his theories and keep reading other books to understand why some countries achieve prosperity while others do not.

Balanced, Insightful, and relevant
Power and Prosperity is an example of economics at its best. First of all, it takes a balanced or neutral approach to its subject matter. The author is not out to prove the superiority of either markets or government. Governmental power is a double edged sword to Olson. Government power promotes prosperity by restraining 'roving bandits' or special interests. Government power is also susceptible to the influence of special interests. Olson also discusses the merits and faults of markets. Markets are ubiquitous and can lead to prosperity, but often do not. Government has a role in this. That is, he finds blame for this in the most negative aspects of government. Olson does not assume market efficiency either. He explains it, as well as some possible limitations to markets.

This is also a highly insightful book. Much of his analysis derives from his earlier work on "the logic of collective action'. He also uses some transaction costs and basic supply and demand/substitution effect reasoning to explain historical events. Students in my comparative classes had more trouble with this book than any other, but it is still manageable. Reading it might be difficult for those who lack an education in economics. But I am not sure if there is an easier way to say what it says, and what it says is most interesting. The concepts the author employs makes a greater understanding of different economic systems and historical periods possible. This is penetrating analysis.

It is also highly relevant. Much of this book focuses on the Soviet Union. One could say that the USSR is a done deal- it failed so forget about it. It is, however, important to understand why it failed so as to avoid repeating such errors in the future. This is what the Author is driving at with in his use of the Soviet example. There were reasons for the failure of the Soviet system that also apply to problems in other nations- not to mention Russia today. The misuse of power has the potential to prevent prosperity as much now as it did under Stalin and Khrushchev.

Does this book have faults? Certainly. Olson takes too positive a view of Stalin's industrialization program (not that he praises Stalin). Olson dismisses complete privatization, or anarchy, too easily. There is nothing wrong with arguing against anarchy. But, his arguments against privatizing the state (i.e private police and courts) are little more than an unsupported dismissal of such arrangements. If he did not want to debate that issue, he should not have taken such a strong stand. He also might have mentioned a few things about FA Hayek- especially on p136 where he wrote "a bureaucracy cannot process all the information needed to calculate an optimal allocation or put it into practice".

While there are a few faults to this book, it is still excellent. It is a must read for anyone interested in either comparative economics and politics, Globalization, or the economic history of the Soviet Union. ... Read more

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Looks at the life of Betsy Ross from her Quaker childhood to her days as an independent businesswoman. Also examines the legend of the Betsy Ross flag. Written in graphic-novel format. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Charles Olson," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Charles Olson in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Charles Olson when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Charles Olson, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Mississippi Quarterly, published by Mississippi State University on March 22, 2000. The length of the article is 3603 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff: A Modern Correspondence.(Review) (book review)
Author: Eleanor Berry
Publication: The Mississippi Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2000
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Volume: 53Issue: 2Page: 307

Article Type: Book Review

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