Heiner Rindermann (2018) Cognitive capitalism: human capital and the wellbeing of nations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, xvi + 576 pp, USD 44.99 (paperback)

Abstract

First things first: Heiner Rindermann is not your average, left-leaning, politically correct social scientist. On the contrary, he does not shy from asking controversial or politically incorrect questions-and from giving equally controversial and politically incorrect answers. Suffice it to give two examples: He complains that "it is taken for granted that animals have distinct races but for around four decades this has not been the case for humans" (p. 318); and he maintains that there are "easy to observe ethnic differences in life outcomes due to ethnic ability differences" (p. 398). Thus, it comes as no surprise that he passionately defends academic freedom and unbiased scientific inquiry against the pernicious influences of prejudice, political correctness, and zeitgeist. Rindermann is a renowned German educational and developmental psychologist with over one hundred papers and a couple of books under his belt. In his latest book, Cognitive Capitalism, his magnum opus (so far), he presents the results of his extensive research into the role of cognitive ability for, inter alia, cultural, political and economic development. In particular, he sees it as the main determinant of the wide differences in wealth and wellbeing between nations. His argument runs as follows: Cognitive competence, which comprises intelligence, knowledge and the ability to use this knowledge, is becoming ever more important in the modern economy, which is becoming ever more complex and knowledge based. Thus, higher cognitive competence will, on average, increase economic growth and well-being: directly, by the work force being more competent and better qualified and by the intellectual climate being more conducive to invention and innovation; indirectly, by its positive influence on the quality of institutions (such as government, the legal system or the system of education). Cognitive competence itself is the result of both evolution (i.e. the influence of genes on intelligence) and culture-the latter being broadly understood as including worldview, value system, customs and norms. Bourgeois culture with its emphasis on education, knowledge, diligence and rationality is presented as the archetype of a culture furthering cognitive development-and as one of the main causes of the comparatively high levels of cognitive competence in Western countries.

The ugly truth behind transitional justice in the post-revolution phase: A constitutional law and economics analysis

“…Since this research focuses solely on the democratic transitions after revolutions over autocratic regimes, I limit my analysis to this setup, which excludes other situations that may involve TJ, such as civil or international wars, or any other form of conflict. 5 For the 3 For more on public choice and its application to constitutional law and political problems, see Cooter (2000); Mueller (2003); Tullock (2008);and Voigt (1997). 4 Other scholars referred to transitional justice momentum in the sense of the point when TJ is both needed and possible (Brems, Giselle and Martien 2015;Muvingi 2011).…”

“… 3 For more on public choice and its application to constitutional law and political problems, see Cooter (2000); Mueller (2003); Tullock (2008); and Voigt (1997). …”

“… 36 For example, see Cooter (2000: 141–75); Miller (2005); Mueller (2003: 359–85); Zupan and Kalt (1990). …”

Exchanges with and without the sword: slavery, politics-as-exchange and freedom in James M. Buchanan's institutional economics

“…Buchanan did not normatively justify slavery, neither as a theoretical construct nor as it has existed in any time or place, but within politics-as-exchange he retrospectively characterized slavery as a bilateral agreement in the state of nature between very unequal persons in which the weaker party sought to avoid an even worse fate (Buchanan, 1975a/2000: 77–78, 1987/2001, 1988a, 1991/1999, 1995a, 2003) and it has been argued prospectively it logically follows that abolition required the consent of slaveowners (Meadowcroft, 2020: 397–400; Mueller, 2003: 143; Reisman, 2015: 121–122).…”

The New Authoritarianism in Public Choice

“… 4. Mueller (2003) added a chapter on dictatorship to the third edition of Public Choice that had not featured in the prior 1989 edition, but it is notable that this chapter reviews almost exclusively literature from the intervening period. …”