Microsoft was never in danger of bankruptcy. But it had become irrelevant as a new group of companies had emerged as the vanguard of the technological revolution. It is not unusual for a company to struggle after the departure of the founder. Apple had also declined after the departure of Steve Jobs in the eighties.... Continue Reading →
Moisés Naím – The End of Power
Early in my life I was drawn to power to impose my ideas onto the world. It was only natural to believe leaders were able to change organizations, businesses or even geopolitics to their whim. But I found my implicit sense of power was entirely wrong. There is a tradeoff between authority and influence. Leadership... Continue Reading →
Joseph Schumpeter – Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
Schumpeter never intended to offer a landmark definition of democracy. It was an accident of fortune. In the preface to the first edition he admits, “The problem of democracy forced its way into the place it now occupies in this volume because it proved impossible to state my views on the relation between the socialist... Continue Reading →
Amartya Sen – Development as Freedom
Political modernization for Samuel Huntington involved the creation of political institutions designed to facilitate the professionalization and organization necessary for an expanded role of governance. Note it is the institutions which are central for political modernization. Political parties, for example, became vehicles for mass political participation not just within democracies but even within nondemocratic political... Continue Reading →
Branko Milanovic – Global Inequality
Inequality was a hot topic within political and economic conversations before Piketty wrote Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Yet the publication of this landmark work gave intellectual context to the criticisms of the gaps within wealth and income. Branko Milanovic explores inequality on a wider scale than Piketty. Indeed, he handles the questions Piketty purposely... Continue Reading →
Thomas Piketty – Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Few books have captured the imagination of the intelligentsia like Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. The book has reshaped how people think about inequality. It is not necessary to agree with his basic thesis. This is one of those books anyone who is well-versed in political theory must understand to converse on complex... Continue Reading →