“Most of us try to consume more information, thinking it will lead to more signal, without thinking about how we filter and how we process the information coming in.”
-Albert Einstein
Welcome to Vol 4. No 2. of The Human Element.
Interesting Stories. Useful References.
The Reference:
Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion. Elite power struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao by Joseph Torigian.
Why it’s useful:
The book provides a different perspective on what’s going on behind the scenes of strongman regimes.
Joseph Torigian is an assistant professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington and a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. In Prestige, he argues:
“Many scholars of authoritarian regimes emphasize systems of exchange based on patronage or policy interests within a single defined group of decision-makers.” (Torigian, Pg. 2)
“This book shows how two of the most important successions in twentieth-century world history were not so much victories of “reformers” over “conservatives” or “radicals,” as previous accounts have argued, but a settling of scores.” (Torigian, Pg 2.)
Why it matters:
I am certainly not a player in global geopolitics.
I pay attention to geopolitics, and especially Russia, China and Saudi Arabia because the actions of their leaders impact our daily lives.
Decisions by President Putin in Russia and Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Saudi Arabia directly impact everything from the price of gas at the pump to the price of oranges. Decisions by Chairman Xi Jinping in China are leading to a global competition over semiconductors (which enable just about everything we do).
An independent, working knowledge of what’s going on in Russia, China and Saudi Arabia can provide important leading indicators of what may happen weeks, months or years from now.
Torigian’s view has provided a framework for understanding authoritarian regimes. It’s been an extremely useful perspective for evaluating viewpoints of governments, news organizations and individuals (it helps me filter news).
What I took away from the book:
The book is outstanding, but it’s expensive ($50) and written for an academic audience. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but there some key, valuable take-aways:
Power in an authoritarian regime is concentrated in the hands of one person. That concentration of power weakens the institutions of the state.
An authoritarian’s decisions are primarily driven by actions which will keep them in power (and out of prison).
“Interpersonal forms of authority, such as personal ties and prestige, as well as the use of incriminating personal information, prove to be of greater importance in power struggles than economic interests or policy positions.”
Thoughts, comments and questions are welcome! You can hit “reply” to this email, post comments on Substack or hit me up in the new Chat function on the Substack app.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate you being part of this journey.