Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How To Take It Back

by Oliver Bullough

The American sociologist Mancur Olson traced the origin of civilisation back to the moment when pre-historic ‘roving bandits’ realised that, instead of raiding groups of humans and moving on, they could earn more by staying put and stealing from their victims all the time. Early humans submitted to this, because – although they lost some of their freedom when they submitted to these ‘stationary bandits’ – they gained in return stability and security. The bandits’ interests, and the community’s interests, became aligned. Without bandits constantly raiding them, and stealing their property, groups of humans built increasingly complex communities and economies, becoming increasingly prosperous, which led eventually to the birth of the state, to civilisation, and to everything we now take for granted. ‘We see why the warlord’s subjects, even though he extracts tax theft from them year by year, prefer him to the roving bandits that rob sporadically. Roving banditry means anarchy, and replacing anarchy with government brings about a considerable increase in output,’ Olson wrote in his 2000 book Power and Prosperity.