08-22-2022, 05:00 PM
There's no way I can dive deeply into Bobbitt's thinking in this forum, though I did read both of his very long books, "The Shield of Achilles" and "Terror and Consent." I'm not sure how much I successfully absorbed, but I think I got the gist of what he means by the transition from the nation-state to the market state here in this excerpt from my blog post:
But read it carefully: he seems to be talking more about the transition to a Third Turning, not to a new constitutional order. He's describing the breakdown of the old order, and mistaking it for the emergence of the new order! Granted, this is my interpretation of his work; these aren't his words exactly.
He's a smart guy so he must still be on to something. When he discusses the breakdown of the old constitutional order, he gives specific reasons at the level of strategy. What undermines the nation-state order and makes it untenable are essentially:
Quote:the familiar nation state of the 20th century is giving way to what Bobbitt calls the “market state.” A key difference between the two orders is that whereas the nation state serves the welfare of the nation through public services and social safety nets, the market state maximizes economic opportunity for its citizens, while protecting them from environmental degradation and network-infiltrating dangers such as infectious disease and terrorism. The state’s role has evolved from managing the system for the benefit of the people, in competition with other states with different ideologies (the Cold War status quo), to protecting the system’s perimeters while allowing the people to manage themselves in a loosely controlled consumer marketplace of global extent (the Washington Consensus and the “End of History.”)
But read it carefully: he seems to be talking more about the transition to a Third Turning, not to a new constitutional order. He's describing the breakdown of the old order, and mistaking it for the emergence of the new order! Granted, this is my interpretation of his work; these aren't his words exactly.
He's a smart guy so he must still be on to something. When he discusses the breakdown of the old constitutional order, he gives specific reasons at the level of strategy. What undermines the nation-state order and makes it untenable are essentially:
- Weapons of mass destruction (good luck fighting "conventional war" now)
- High tech information networks (they empower individuals over governments)
Steve Barrera
[A]lthough one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. - Hagakure
Saecular Pages
[A]lthough one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. - Hagakure
Saecular Pages