Matthew Jankowski > Recent Status Updates

I am unfamiliar with this period. This book fills in quite a few blanks.

Remarkable.

Interesting so far. I've been reading the classics for a few years now. I can see their value and think I would have benefited from Latin, Greek, and more grounding in the classics at a younger age.

Algeria. 1991 Iraq war. 1991 Kurds. shia uprising instigated by western powers. turks steal food from kurds. Marsh arabs.

I can see howard in almost every sci fi episode. Especially James t Kirk.

On to french colonized algeria.

Engrossing.

Details how states create cadastral maps and then use their monopoly on violence to make those maps reality with sometimes terrible consequences. Interesting reading,

Stopping this until I complete Fisk's 'The Great War for Civilization'. That said, I look forward to his analysis.

History ought be taught in reverse chronological order. There isn't much in Fisk's book that I consider new. However, when one sees it all together world events in the Middle East come into focus. The Iranian jet shot down by the Vincennes, Lockerbie place in context of barely reported gulf war.

The fall of the shah. A,erican embassy in Iran. Saddam starts war. Gas. Uss stark, Iranian airliner shot down. Everyone in the worlds funds and arms both sides. Gulf war 1991. Too bad we didn't cover this stuff in my us or world history classes....

Finished act one. Aneas reaches Italy.

Nice analysis. Covers howgangs govern facets of life that the prison administration does not. Raises the question of how many prisoners is too many? Reminds me of my own work life.

Last 40% of book lists names of American dead at Tarawa. Interesting account. Author inserted much anti labor sentiment. One wants to believe the soldiers were so calm and rational in battle. However, the author seems pro war enough that I wonder...

I've read updates from others. I see now how one might not finish this book. The history fills me with sadness. If one wants accurate information about today's Middle East this is required reading.

Author diverges from these points by claiming norms are a means and not an end. People coordinate to achieve objectives. We need to understand what problems norms arise to solve, and what problems they cannot. Second, prisons deprive inmates of governance. I don't think, at this point, the author fully described deprivation or importation theory. Curious to see if he does.

Deprivation theory: prison social order arises from things taken away from prisoners. Importation theory claims prison conditions reflect the life experiences of prisoners beforehand.

One interesting point is how the high likelihood that a criminal will go to prison gives the prison gang leaders enormous power on the streets. The long sentences for drug dealing since the eighties greatly expanded the membership and power of the gangs.

Rational-choice approach: 1 people are rational 2 adjust their behavior according to conditions. Governance rights: private property, capture benefits of trade, and act collectively. Author nicely compares prison life to a poorly governed country.

Ok, first off the kindle version is nonstandard more pdf than mobi. I would prefer standard format. At least highlights work. The author, like many economists, appropriates much that we understand as commonsensical for his own field. Annoying, but common to the field. That said, economists lay out clearly stated models, and this author is no exception.