Good history, shame about the theory

We use theory to interpret history. The latter does not unambiguously exist, independent from the way in which we view it. So you can have the most factual account of a historical episode, but the wrong theoretical apparatus will fundamentally undermine it. I place heavy emphasis on getting the theory right prior to historical application, and at times that might appear too abstract - but it's out of respect for empirical analysis that we should spend time with theory.

The reason I tend not to watch the news, read newspapers, etc, is because although I find the history fascinating (what's happening, where, when. Who's involved, what the chronology is), if it's underpinned by faulty theory it's frustrating and discomforting. An otherwise enlightening BBC news story on Eastern Europe becomes unlistenable when the narrator implies that the privatisation of collectivised farms necessarily leads to a fall in efficiency, due to a loss of economies of scale. Contrast Michael Palin with Kirsty Wark. The former humbly presents his evidence, occasionally speculating about the Why's but always with caution. The latter idly asserts, imposing pre-conceived and underdeveloped ideas in a format that guards her from criticism.

The reason I mention this, is The Economist's review of Roberto Saviano's history of the Naples Mafia which quite rightly takes him to task:

Like a lot of young Italians (he is 28) brought up on an intellectual diet of Catholicism and Marxism, he sees liberalism as more of a threat than an opportunity. “The logic of criminal business coincides with the most aggressive neoliberalism,” he claims. But it doesn't. Liberalism aspires to free competition; gangsters build cartels.

The reason I decided to pursue a career in ideas is because I feel that the future development of civilisation depends upon a wider understanding of the science of (old school) Political Economy - Austrian economics and Public Choice political science. It is frustrating to see how readily non-specialists wade into these subject matters (i) ignorant of what the disciplines have to offer; and (ii) unapologetic about being so. I haven't read Saviano's book, and I'm sure it's a marvelous means to develop our understanding of the Mafia. But it would be all the better if he - and others like him - would be a little more explicit about the theoretical frameworks they utilise, and cautious about what they've dismissed.

You have to earn the right to dismiss "theory".

Comments

[Neil]

Anthony, isn't this just a case of culture? Young Italians may see liberalism as a threat in the same way that Russians have misunderstand/misinterpret the free market (due to a historical dominance of landowner over entrepreneurship, and then communism) or that Latin American votes in socialists as a way of making economic progress through nationalisation and protection. I think cultural context counts for a lot. Theories aren't necessarily "dismissed", they are misunderstood or misinterpreted, or, probably more commonly, not engaged with at all.

Nick

P.S. I enjoy the blog.

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History is about recording and remembering what happends in life to avoid the same mistakes!!
and all social theories that try to explain history are very difficult because It will be NEVER two situations with identical variables!!
It wll be similarities..yes.. no more than that

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