ABSTRACT
There’s an acute sense of crisis in the government of our times. An appreciation of the long and varied history of statecraft and rulership, however, shows us that the wicked problem of government is far from new. It shows us how much we have achieved (and ruined) and yet how little we’ve learned. The conclusion updates from October 2019 to January 2021 the political events with which the book began. Within that period alone the aims and concerns of governments were unexpectedly transformed. Aside from these contemporary events, the conclusion reprises some of the themes of government (such as security and taxation) that have perpetually preoccupied us, and some of the significant improvements that have occurred over the centuries: notably the greater participation of women and the limitations on the powers of individual rulers by impersonal rules and laws. Humanity now faces global problems that cannot be addressed by nations alone, creating an urgent need for collective action and government at the international level. And yet we have lived through a period of nationalism and political polarisation that made such concerted action more difficult to initiate, let alone achieve. This book is premised, however, on the positive expectation that learning about the past will strengthen our resolve to govern wisely for the future.
