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Private Governance: Creating Order in Economic and Social Life First Edition

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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From the first stock markets of Amsterdam,London, and New York to the billions of electronic commerce transactions today, privately produced and enforced economic regulations are more common, more effective, and more promising than commonly considered.

In Private Governance, prominent economist Edward Stringham presents case studies of the various forms of private enforcement, self-governance, or self-regulation among private groups or individuals that fill a void that government enforcement cannot. Through analytical narratives the book provides a close examination of the world's first stock markets, key elements of which were unenforceable by law; the community of Celebration, Florida, and other private communities that show how public goods can be bundled with land and provided more effectively; and the millions of credit-card transactions that occur daily and are regulated by private governance. Private Governance ultimately argues that while potential problems of private governance, such as fraud, are pervasive, so are the solutions it presents, and that much of what is orderly in the economy can be attributed to private groups and individuals. With meticulous research, Stringham demonstrates that private governance is a far more common source of order than most people realize, and that private parties have incentives to devise different mechanisms for eliminating unwanted behavior.

Private Governance documents numerous examples of private order throughout history to illustrate how private governance is more resilient to internal and external pressure than is commonly believed. Stringham discusses why private governance has economic and social advantages over relying on government regulations and laws, and explores the different mechanisms that enable private governance, including sorting, reputation, assurance, and other bonding mechanisms. Challenging and rigorously-written, Private Governance will make a compelling read for those with an interest in economics, political philosophy, and the history of current Wall Street regulations.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0199365164
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199365166
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 2015
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.2 x 1 x 9.3 inches
  8. Print length
    296 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stringham's thesis is thought provoking. He argues it well and provides a number of case studies that illustrate clearly how private governance succeeded when most people would expect it to fail."

Ethics and Culture Blog

"Stringham is to be commended for his bold and wonderfully-argued thesis, and for the research that he has done in supporting his claims. This book is a delight to read, is packed with accessible and fascinating information, is confident enough to tweak the noses of the Left and is a recommended - required - read for anyone interested in the beauty of spontaneous order, far removed from the shadow of the state."

The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics

"Private Governance is a masterpiece of economic, philosophical, and legal reasoning that will shake progressive ideology to its foundations, and, if read by enough young people, dispatch it to a waiting grave."

Andrew Napolitano, Fox News

"Stringham dispels state-worshipping fiction with historical fact to show how good governance has preceded Leviathan, ignores it when necessary, and can surpass it when it fails."

Peter Thiel, Entrepreneur

"If you read this book you will have to readjust what you think is possible. A masterful account that mixes history, theory, and a deep understanding of what contracts really mean."

Michael Munger, Duke University

"The dominant view in economic and political theory is that markets can only exist in the 'shadow of the state.' This superb volume challenges this contention head on."

Mark Pennington, King's College London

"Explains how private governance can work in theory and carefully details a series of real-world case studies to illustrate how it actually works. Stringham writes so well that this book should be appreciated and enjoyed by academics and non-academics alike."

Bruce Benson, Florida State University

"The theory and practice of private provision of protection, security, and adjudication has a long and distinguished history. Private Governance is an extremely important contribution to understanding this issue."

Leonard Liggio, Institute for Humane Studies

"Adam Smith brought us the 'invisible hand.' Now, Stringham brings us 'private governance.' Am I going too far in comparing Stringham to Smith? Maybe so, but it is because Smith does not deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Stringham. Read this book (that's an order!)."

Walter Block, Loyola University-New Orleans

"Brimming with surprises and intellectual curiosity. Stringham turns the conventional wisdom on its head, in delightful and convincing fashion."

Tom Woods, Historian

"Masterfully weaves economic analysis with little-known history and elegant storytelling to demonstrate the power of individuals to create order without law or government. Essential reading for policy-makers, academics, and anyone else with questions about the power of freedom."

Marcus Cole, Stanford University

Book Description

Private Governance makes the case that private rules and regulations are more common and effective than most people know.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; First Edition (January 1, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199365164
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199365166
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 1 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

About the author

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Edward P. Stringham

Edward P. Stringham

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Edward Peter Stringham is the S.C. Davis Professor of American Business and Economic Enterprise at Trinity College and Editor of the Journal of Private Enterprise. He is author of more than 70 journal articles, book chapters, and policy studies. His work has been discussed on more than 100 broadcast stations, including CBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox, Headline News, NPR, and MTV.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
35 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Rob
5.0 out of 5 stars A New Masterwork of Anarcho-Libertarian Thought
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2016
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A masterwork, which will take its place in the canon of Anarcho-Libertarian thought, and which people will be referring to throughout the ages. A thorough and cogent examination of the relative merits of private justice, with a fascinating review of private justice systems throughout history, which has the power to advance conversations of these issues.

My sole complaint about the book is directed at Oxford University Press -- Why is the print so excruciatingly small? The manner in which this book is printed makes it very difficult to read, and if the content were not so fascinating might have led me to put it down. Please do a better job on subsequent printing. This material deserves a thicker volume.
12 people found this helpful
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Frances
5.0 out of 5 stars How Is Order Created? NOT BY GOVERNMENT.
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2015
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Do you think that only the state can create a market exchange? How is eBay like the Amsterdam Bourse? Do you believe that derivatives are a modern financial tool? Then prepare to learn. Ed Stringham weaves case studies in storytelling ways. He not only answers the above questions masterfully, but also makes the persuasive case that markets precede governments, markets help make people moral, and situations are more difficult just because of government.
22 people found this helpful
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Winston's Blues
5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Dialect
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016
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In a time in the U.S. when state and local governments persistently struggle with their budgets, taking federal bribes with strings attached to make it another year, tomes such as this one are vital to spreading higher caliber ideas on how to self govern cost effectively.
2 people found this helpful
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William Kiely
4.0 out of 5 stars Think government is necessary to solve problems? This book explores the wide variety of private governance solutions that exist
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016
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Ed Stringham's "Private Governance" was the first libertarian / anarcho-capitalist book I have read in two years. My favorite book in the genre by far is still Michael Huemer's The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey, which I highly recommend if you're considering reading a book in this genre. (Note: I'm giving "Private Governance" 4/5 stars only because it doesn't live up to the high standard set by Huemer.)

That said, Stringham's book provides a lot of insight that Huemer doesn't get to.

As someone who is already a libertarian anarchist (and as a non-economist), the most valuable insights I got out of "Private Governance" were those related to seeing the extent to which private governance exists in all societies (even statist ones) to varying degrees and the extent to which legal centrism ("the idea that order in the world depends on and is attributable to government law") is false.

Stringham writes: "Although not legal centralists in the traditional sense, many radical libertarians are legal centralists of a sort who simply substitute private enforcers for government enforcers of law. If a potential problem comes up, the libertarian legal centralist is prone to say, “That would be illegal in my ideal world.” Yet even the best private police or courts might not be able to solve a problem in a cost-effective way, so private parties may have to live with certain trade-offs or seek alternative solutions."

"Private Governance" explores these trade-offs and alternative solutions--creative solutions that even many anarcho-capitalists and other free market thinkers (who now seem to me as well to give legal centrism too much credit) don't seem to be aware of or don't mention as much as they should.

Education about these many kinds of private governance are important in part because the more that people learn about the large variety of possible private solutions to problems, the less likely they will be to assume/believe (like nearly everyone mistakenly does) that government intervention to try to solve these problems is beneficial or necessary.

Stringham's book definitely increased my awareness and appreciation of the extent of private governance solutions that exist. This was not the first time that my beliefs about how well private actors could solve problems was changed in this direction. Rather, my views have shifted further in this direction a great deal over time as my views changed from default-statism to minarchist libertarianism to anarchist-libertarianism (and then even kept shifting further from legal centrism even after I became an anarchist). While my views on this hadn't changed much lately, this book definitely shifted my beliefs further.

And then: In his last chapter Stringham claims to have just skimmed the surface of examples of private governance with his exploration in his book, and I believe him.

He writes: "In many cases, solutions do not exist, or have yet to be invented. For example, cavemen, and for that matter the vast majority of people in human history, did not have the luxury of the New York Cotton Exchange or Chicago Mercantile Exchange acting as rule-enforcing clearinghouse. Such is the world. But innovations are always popping up, and a researcher can help document them rather than assume that markets are made possible by declarations of law."

So now I am lead to believe that more voluntary, private solutions to problems currently exist (and and can exist--they just need to be invented) than I will ever be aware of. And further, to the extent to which I or others believe they don't exist, we are probably simply not looking hard enough or not being imaginative enough. This is an important lesson that "Private Governance" teaches.
8 people found this helpful
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Steve Heller
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for anyone debating this issue
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2015
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Puts the lie to claims that only government can create order in society. Highly recommended for anyone debating this issue.
4 people found this helpful
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Fernando R. Teson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015
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Very instructive and revealing.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The book starts with a beautiful Forward by Peter Boettke
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2016
PRIVATE GOVERNANCE by Edward Stringham gives us a rare look into social evolution, whereby man is transcending his animal past and moving into his distinctively creative, human nature through the development of ever more sophisticated ways of practicing the free-market process of specialization and voluntary exchange. In this meticulously researched data base of information, Edward Stringham cogently refutes the assumption of many classical liberals that the market process is impossible without a coercive, non-market agency to protect private property and enforce performance of contracts. Among those falling to his pen in this respect, even while otherwise skeptical about government, are James Buchanan, Milton Friedman, Russell Hardin, Friedrich Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Douglas North, Robert Nozick, Mancur Olson, Ayn Rand, Gordon Tullock, even Ludwig von Mises. These have, in Stringham’s words, a government-centric view of markets, believing that markets emerge only after government creates a framework. It would be difficult for any thoughtful person, after reading this book, not to be skeptical of such a view. The prize then, should he put aside his govern-centric view, will be that he will find opening to his mind a new horizon of possibilities for mankind.
The book starts with a beautiful Forward by Peter Boettke, itself reflecting the title of the closing chapter, “The Unseen Beauty that Underpins Markets.” Stringham opens (Part One) by asking “why government?” and discusses the widespread deus ex machina legal mindset, named after a “plot device in Greek plays that used gods played by actors suspended on cranes to suddenly solve character’s problems.” It is widely expected that problems in governance, whether securing property rights or facilitating exchange, will be solved at the last minute by an outside, non-market entity, that government both can and will fix problems. But the underlying assumptions are questionable. Does government (regulators, police, and courts) have the ability to solve the public’s problems in a low-cost way, or has it the knowledge, or the incentive? Stringham notes that throughout history, governments have had a tremendous track record of undermining property rights and interfering with markets. But just as entrepreneurs look for ways to serve consumers where there are unmet product needs, private providers of governance have incentive to look for creative solutions where there are such unmet needs. PayPal, for one instance among many, “noticed an existing set of problems and found ways to solve them. The company helped facilitate nonrepeat transactions between complete strangers around the world and enriched many people as a result” (p.19). Private governance “allows for variation, experimentation, and solutions that vary according to the challenge at hand” (p.36).
The concluding chapter in Part One draws on James Buchanan’s theory of clubs, or voluntary associations, and its relevance for private governance. Here Stringham analyzes private governance as a club good in which private provision of rules prevails. The relevance of club theory for private governance extends throughout the book.
The next eight chapters comprising Part Two form the body of the book, discussing privately governed markets in history and as evolved today. The first three chapters set out a fascinating and richly documented (and illustrated) history of stock markets, from their first development in the Netherlands, trading shares of the East India Company, to the London and New York Stock Exchanges of today. History clearly shows that the complex rules of these markets everywhere emerged from the market, from the brokers themselves. Indeed, until late in the nineteenth century, government not only did not enforce contracts but everywhere opposed the growth and development of stock exchanges. Short sales, forward contracts, hypothecation and other derivatives all developed without external enforcement. The first stock markets and the rules governing them — the mechanisms that made them work — evolved privately.
Two following chapters discuss various aspects of private governance. They show how the markets create transparency with competing listing and disclosure requirements; how technologically advanced markets can work, even when fraud is “legal,” thanks to ex-ante risk management by intermediaries; how private governance can be bundled with “bricks and mortar,” exemplified by private policing in California, North Carolina and beyond; how the most personal and most important private governance is individual self-governance; how third party review can be adjudicated by contract if needed; and how private governance works in the most complex markets. This last contains an extended discussion of successful risk management on Wall Street — even in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn.
The closing three chapters of Part Three offer us “Lessons of Private Governance.” The first considers the relationship between public and private governance: does the state help or crowd out good governance? The second discusses the possibility of applying Hayek’s insights about discovery and spontaneous order to governance. And the final chapter is, as noted earlier, one of this reviewer’s favorites, entitled, “The Unseen Beauty that Underpins Markets.”
I personally would have liked it had the author carried the theme of beauty a bit further, even at the risk of coloring outside the margins of the basic theme of private governance. In his discussion of individual self-governance in Chapter Nine, Stringham speaks only of various forms of self restraint. While it might not quite fit the theme of this book, many successful entrepreneurs are motivated aesthetically, by the beauty and challenge to be found in market behavior. They are not in any sense restrained; rather they find doing business joyful, a game to be pursued in which profits and losses are simply the game markers telling you how well you are doing. Once Spencer Heath was describing the free-market process, and someone raised the objection that many businessmen cheat; he responded by saying that such people were not then acting as businessmen any more than someone who cheats at cards is playing the game of cards. Many successful entrepreneurs are not restraining themselves from fraudulent behavior. Far from it! They are pursuing the game for the beauty and challenge they find there. It is commonly said that honesty in the best policy. Well it is not; it is insufficient. Everyone could be a hundred percent honest and, standing still, starve to death. The game of business which is evolving in the modern world is the practice of the golden rule of actively serving others — as they wish to be served — and being by many served in return. This is artistry, and as it is practiced more and more every day, and with greater sophistication, it becomes possible for more and more people to be liberated into their own forms of self-realization by creative artistry, whatever it might be. This is the positive vision for mankind.

Spencer MacCallum, for the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.
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Top reviews from other countries

Mr Aidan Walsh
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a really super book. A lovely
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a really super book. A lovely, well-written read, without econ-jargon, that draws you through with a series of stories. Anyone interested in history, financial history, regulation, deregulation or an alternative way of looking at how institutions are 'invented' and how they develop would enjoy this book. But there is also a theoretical framework at the end that draws the whole thing together - it alone is worth the price of the book!
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