The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution

By: Francis Fukuyama

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions that included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or unable to function in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.

Francis Fukuyama, author of the best-selling The End of History and The Last Man, and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today’s basic political institutions developed.

The first of a major two-volume work, The Origins of Political Order begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French Revolution.

Drawing on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2011 Francis Fukuyama (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fukuyama writes a crystalline prose that balances engaging erudition with incisive analysis. As germane to the turmoil in Afghanistan as it is to today's congressional battles, this is that rare work of history with up-to-the-minute relevance." ( Publishers Weekly)

“Political theorist Francis Fukuyama’s new book is a major accomplishment, likely to find its place among the works of seminal thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke, and modern moral philosophers and economists such as John Rawls and Amartya Sen . . .It is a perspective and a voice that can supply a thinker’s tonic for our current political maladies.” (Earl Pike, The Cleveland Plain Dealer)

“Ambitious and highly readable.” ( The New Yorker)

I learned a lot, but was ultimately unsatisfied

NOTE that this is largely the same as my review for the other book - Political Order and Political Decay.

I came at this book hoping for a argument supporting a general theory of political development. I did not get that. Instead, this book asserts at the start a sort of theory of political development ('three core institutions'), and uses it to tie together and compare a bunch of stories about political development.

Fukuyama asserts early in the book three 'core institutions' of political order - a strong state, rule of law, and accountable government. It is hard to actually extract what the precise theory is, aside from "having these institutions is good."

The advantage of this approach is that I learned a lot about the various countries used as case studies. These 'basic in China, India, the Egyptian and Ottoman Empires, and European political development. This core institution framework is actually a pretty good model for describing big themes in the history of countries and then comparing them.

The disadvantage of this is that I didn't get what I wanted from the book, and was vaguely insulted by how it was presented. I learned facts; I wanted theory. I learned what did happen; I wanted a tool to help me think about what is going to happen. The book is deeply disappointing on this score.

Finally, there are a few other things that nagged me throughout this book:
- It is one half of a book. It is not complete without the other half, Political Order and Political Decay. Not only that, but much of the argument in this book is presented as a prequel to the big reveal of the theory of political decay in the following volume. Not a big deal, but it does involve a 48 hour plus listening commitment.
- There are several places, mostly in political philosophy, where I found his descriptions of other authors' theories to be wildly off the mark. His 'state of nature' section misses the intent and purpose of those arguments. He similarly misses the point on Malthus. I, personally, found these infuriating; but I can see passing by them if that's not your particular flame to wonk about.
- There are several bad habits of speech, writing, and thought that are consistent throughout the book. They wouldn't be so bad after a seven hour book - after a total of 48 hours they grated heavily. Specifically, Dr. Fukuyama failed to exercise proper discipline on his use of the world fail; his often frequent use of some unneccessary caveats may have contributed to the partial watering-down of his theories, and his used a high level of quantitative descriptions without a corresponding description of what the levels mean.

Broad in scope yet eminently listenable

Would you listen to The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution again? Why?

YES. I have listened to this once through and been introduced to a large variety of concepts which were fleshed out with many great case studies. This book contains so much information in a format which is so easy to follow that a second listening would bring so much more of the subtle details to stuff I know rather than just something you heard.

What did you like best about this story?

The organization of the theories he presents is superb, with case studies to support each claim. There are enough case studies to be convincing and interesting, without going into so much detail that it is impossible to follow. Furthermore, I really appreciate the comparative nature of his methodology, not just beating a case to death but using broader trends throughout different societies to back up each of his points.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The performance was great, haven't heard anything else he's narrated. He paces it just right so you can listen. There were a few times when I missed sentences and had to go back because of the intense thought used in processing previous sentences, but this is largely a function of the book being incredibly well written. The narrator paced himself well so that those moments weren't too common despite the density of the neat ideas in this book.

Any additional comments?

There were 2 problems with this book: 1) there are times (few, but noticeable) when the author made lists to prove his point. When this happens, its incredibly hard to follow specifics listening rather than reading which allows to reread the numbers. They were never excessive or damaging, but in a perfect world would not be there.
2) This really is just up to the beginning of the french/american revolution. It is incredibly frustrating that modern day political order he left for a second book which is not out yet, as this one was put together so well I am antsy for the second volume.

4 star education, 2.5 star entertainment

This book went way beyond my expectations as far as political history but didn't keep me engaged at all. I zoned out for long periods and didn't feel I missed anything too interesting. If you are interested or a student of the evolution of politics or China, then this book is deep and likely to satisfy you. If you are looking to broaden your horizons and hope to find this book full of captivating stories and facts then I don't recommend it.

Good voice; great material

The narrator actually takes on the tone of the author and has a good voice. The material is quite unique and it teaches history alongside politics and basic economics. Now for the second book...

A thoroughly engaging work on political history.

Would you listen to The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution again? Why?

Yes. I definitely need to re-listen to this book. This audiobook has lots of information in it and I feel requires re-listening to properly appreciate the ideas and timelines of global political history. As a person not trained in the social sciences, I found this book really engaging and the flow easy to follow. Fukuyama has done a great job trying to distill the history of politics into a fairly manageable size!

The scope and depth of this book is incredible.

This is not an easy read. As an academic who sometime teaches about the rise of the liberal order, I found this book totally fascinating. I'm afraid that my students would have a hard time with it, though. The details can be overwhelming at times, but the scope and breadth makes it all worth it.

Good History, Poor Analysis

Any additional comments?

In the box thinking with an orthodox bias. Poor specificity of terms (e.g., the state, government, patronage, clientelism, etc.), and getting some concepts completely backwards (e.g., debasing currency because of inflation, rather than inflation being caused by the debasement of currency). The history is very good. The economics, not so much.

amazingly insightful

the sheer amount of knowledge, history, breadth, and depth professor Fukuyama gets into explaining the origins of political order around the world is nothing short of mind boggling. The comparative analysis is detailed, academic, and extremely informative. I will definitely be getting a hardcopy of this book one day so I can reference it for future study

Nuanced look at development of political systems

focuses on early human history and how different factors contributed to the evolution of political systems in differing areas. Outlines in a limited manner how some of the issues of the past can still frame political systems today

Highly detailed and long journey, but worth it.

if you have any interest in history and politics, this book is fantastic. the level of detail helps cement the theory around what goes into the building of a successful state.