Exit, Voice, and the State

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Exit, Voice, and the State Author(s): Albert O. Hirschman Source: World Politics, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Oct., 1978), pp. 90-107 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2009968 . Accessed: 18/04/2011 18:27 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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EXIT, VOICE, AND THE STATE By ALBERT 0. HIRSCHMAN*

T

to discontent reactions with HERE aretwomaintypesofactivist

to whichone belongsor withwhichone doesbusiorganizations while continuingas a member ness: eitherto voiceone's complaints, in the hope of improvingmatters;or to exit fromthe or customer, Exit,Voice,and Loyalty' totakeone'sbusinesselsewhere. organization, was builton thisdichotomy. with theiremwas thateconomists, One of my main contentions the phasison the virtuesof competition(i.e., exit), had disregarded withtheirinof voicejust as politicalscientists, possiblecontributions had neglectedthe possible and protest, terestin politicalparticipation role of exitin the analysisof politicalbehavior.The book, however, withthe to theformer pointand dealtonlybriefly gavemoreattention principalobjectof study:the state. In the present politicalscientist's of exit survey.The importance paper,I shallattempta moreextensive in relationto the stateis the commonthemeof the diversesituations, rangingfromthe statelesssocietiesof tropicalAfricato the modern smallwelfarestate,thatI will explore. I. EXIT, RousSEAU'sSAVAGE,ANDSTATELESSSOCIETIES

to the usefulto contribute Does theexit-voice modelhavesomething Rousseau. analysisof thestate?It does,in theopinionof Jean-Jacques * This paperwas originally held in June1977 at the Uniwrittenfora symposium of jubileeof thefoundation versity of Uppsala,Sweden,on theoccasionof the5oo-year It is reproduced herewithsomechanges.The authoris gratefulto Ulf theUniversity. who organizedtheUppsalasymposium, and to Karen Blu and Clifford Himmelstrand Geertzfordiscussionand criticalcomments. I Hirschman, Exit,Voice,and Loyalty:Responsesto Declinein Firms,Organizations, and States(Cambridge:HarvardUniversity PressI970). 2 Primarily in connectionwith the issue of resignation of officials who are in diswithpublicpolicies(see chaps.7 and 8). I have touchedon emigration in agreement relationto thestatein two subsequentpapers:"Exit,Voice,and Loyalty:FurtherRexiii (FebSocial ScienceInformation, flections and a Surveyof RecentContributions," ruaryi974), 7-26, and "PoliticalEconomy:Some Uses of the Exit-VoiceApproachAmericanEconomicReview,Papersand Proceedings, Vol. 66 (May I976), Discussion," movementsare broughtinto the exit-voiceframework by Stein 386-89.Secessionist ofStateFormationand Nation-Building: A PossibleParadigmfor Rokkan,"Dimensions Researchon VariationswithinEurope,"in CharlesTilly,ed., The Formationof NaPressI975), 562-6oo, tional States in WesternEurope (Princeton:Princeton University State Boundariesand BorderControl:An and by Samuel E. Finer,"State-Building, in WesternEurope,ConEssayon CertainAspectsof theFirstPhaseof State-Building xiii sideredin theLightof theRokkan-Hirschman Model,"Social ScienceInformation, (August-October i974), 79-i26.

University Press s978 by Princeton WorldPolitics0043-8871/78/oioo9o-I8$o.9o/I For copyinginformation, see contributor page

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In theDiscourseon the Origin and the Foundationsof Inequality amongMenhewrote: Whenthesavagehas had his dinnerhe is at peacewithall of Nature and friends witheveryone aroundhim.Whatif a disputearisesabout themeal?In thatcase,he will neverbecomeinvolvedin a real fight withouthavingfirstcomparedthedifficulty of winningwiththat of findingelsewherethe meansof subsistence;and sinceconsiderations of prideareofno consequence thefightis rapidlysettled bytheexchange ofsomefisticuffs: thewinner eats,thelosergoesto lookforbetter luck elsewhere(va chercherfortune)and everything is at peaceagain; but withmaninsociety things arealtogether different...

Rousseauallowedherefora strictly limited amountofnonverbal voice -"some fisticuffs" in theunusualcasein whichthereis a fight atallandexitwasforhimtheprincipal wayinwhichthe"savage"manifests nonconformity withothermembers ofhisgroup.Thiswayofdealing withdissent has thevirtueof minimizing conflict; it also is likelyto keepanyonegroupquitesmall.For exittofunction in thisbeneficial manner, Rousseau'sprincipalcondition is the absenceof "pride"elsewhere he calledit amourpropreand contrasted it withthecommendableamourde soi whichis concerned of withthesatisfaction basicphysiological needs.The questionwhether the"savage"would be ableto filltheseneedsafterhavingexitedfroma groupwas taken up by Rousseauin hisEssayon the Originof Languagesand,consistently enough, received a resoundingly affirmative answer. ... theorigin oflanguages isnotduetothefirst needsofmen;itwould beabsurd menthere toholdthatfrom should thecausethatseparates derive theinstrument thatunites doeslanguage them. Where, then, originate?In themoralneeds,in thepassions. Passions bringmencloser together whiletheneedto stayalive obligesthemto fleefromeach other.4

Mostreaders of theEssayareof courseinterested in Rousseau's remarkable theory of languagewhichis brought underway withthese sentences. I chooseto emphasize vigorous herehisviewthatbreaking awayfroma groupis notnecessarily a bar to survival, so thatexit a feasible becomes optionin caseofconflict. It is welltoremember that theEssaywas originally partof theDiscourse;5thetwoquotedpassagesaredifferent aspectsofthesamethought. Jointly theyconstitute a theory of a small,stateless in whichtheavailability of exit society 3Rousseau,Oeuvres completes (Paris: NRF, Pleiade i966), III, 203; emphasisadded. and notesby edition,introduction, CharlesPorset(Bordeaux:DucrosI970), chap.II, 43; emphasisadded. 5 ibid., ii (introduction byPorset). 4 See Rousseau, Essai sur l'origine des langues ... ,

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ofdefusing conflict andofassuring a continuous hasthedualfunction of thecondition processof fission-andthereby thecontinuation of statelessness. Observation ofcertain in recentdecades so-called societies primitive has turnedup a numberof situations thatcorrespond to Rousseau's model.Writingin 1944, ClaudeLevi-Strauss givesthefollowing accountofpolitical lifeamongtheNambikuara ofCentralBrazil: No socialstructure is weaker andmorefragile thantheNambikuara band.Ifthechief's authority appears tooexacting, ifhekeepstoomany women forhimself, orifhedoesnotsatisfactorily solvethefoodproblemin timesofscarcity, discontent willverylikelyappear.Then,individuals, or families, willseparate fromthegroupandjoinanother bandbelieved tobebetter managed....Therefore, Nambikuara social structure appears continuously onthemove.Thebandstakeshape, they disorganize, they increase andthey vanish. Within a fewmonths, sometimes, theircomposition, number and distribution cannotbe recognized.6

A similar ofsocialand political alsofromCentral pattern behavior, Brazil,is reported byJoanBamberger abouta tribecalledKayap6: Shouldtraditional failtore-establish after leadership a dispute harmony hasbroken out,thecontestants andsometimes theirsupporters, which in themostdramatic instance includes theentirecommunity, may engagein physical combat. Fighting of thiskindis institutionalized amongtheKayap6in theformal duel,knownas abentak("hitting together")....whoever losesan abentak,whether it is a two-person ora community fight brawl, mustleavethevillage. TheKayap6saythat thevanquished depart becausetheyhavetoomuch"shame"(piaam) toremain in thesamevillagewiththosepeoplewithwhomtheyhave fought....7

to Rousseau'sfisticuffs The similarity scenariois remarkable, even withmorethana traceof thoughtheKayap6seemto be afflicted The disaffected prideandamourpropre. Kayapoalsoresemble Rousseau'ssavagein thattheysimplyexitwithout or necessarily entering joiningsomeothergroupthatseemstothemto be better managed(as isthecaseforthegroupdescribed a breakaway byLevi-Strauss); group is hereapparently willingand ableto go it alone. On turning fromAmerica toAfrica, onemeetswithmanymoreillus6Levi-Strauss,"The Social and Psychological Aspectsof Chieftainship in a Primitive Tribe: The Nambikuaraof Northwestern Mato Grosso" (0944), reprinted in Ronald Cohenand JohnMiddleton,eds.,Comparative Political Systems: Studies in the Politics of Pre-Induistrial Societies (GardenCity,N.Y.: NaturalHistoryPressiQ67), 53-54. 7Bamberger, "Exit and Voice in CentralBrazil: On the Politicsof Flightin Kayapo Society,"in David Maybury-Lewis, ed., Dialectical Societies (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,forthcoming).

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of fissiparous to theanof thephenomenon politics-known trations or stateless soundersuchtitlesas acephalous literature thropological fissionand fusion,and thelike. cieties, segmentary lineagesystems, dealswithwhatin modernpoliticsis A largepartof thatliterature In otherwords,the than rather as "emigration." knownas "secession" takestheformofa groupdetaching towardfission tendency frequently froma largeronewhilestaying (or movingabout,in thecaseof itself The exitconcept could,of nomadictribes)in thesameareaas before. to covercasesof thissort.I shall,however, limit course, be extended in whichphysical heretosituations movingawayofindividuals myself of thesplitting-up characteristic or groupsis an essential process. to exitin thissenseappearsto be an important Frequentrecourse in a numberof Africansocieties. of statelessness Evansingredient Pritchard saysabouttheNuerthat"anyNuermayleavehistribeand a member."8 in a newtribeofwhichhe thereby becomes In their settle Middleton andTaitwrite, "In Introduction to TribesWithout Rulers, forexample, therearepolitically muchofCentral uncentralized Africa, is provided in which. . . themainpoliticalstructure byrelasocieties of and in chiefs villagers cognatic tionsbetween kin,related various where waysto a headmanand freeto choosetheirvillageresidence on Bushmanbandsin SouthAfrica,Lorna theyplease."9Reporting of choiceand changeof memMarshallpointsout that"thepossibility bers from one band to another . . . allows for adjustmentin the size

of foodand water"and that"a new oftheband to therelativescarcity band can be formedat anytimethatcircumstances permitand people desireto formone." Frictionin humanrelationsis one reasonforsuch new bandformation.1 ofthefissionprocessvia geographical The mostelaboratedescription separationis in Turnbull'saccountof Mbuti pygmybands in the thathavelittleto do tropicalrainforestofCentralAfrica.Here fissions are frequentoccurrences, withlinealrelationships speciallyon the occasionwhena camp moves. Sitesare evenchosenbecausetheyafford greater privacybetweenthe thusminimizing thatarein progvarioussections, anyseriousdisputes willpersist, hostilities ress.Someinterpersonal however, and it is these 8 Evans-Pritchard, "The Nuer of theSouthernSudan,"in M. Fortesand E. E. EvansPritchard, eds.,AfricanPoliticalSystems(London: OxfordUniversity PressI940), 279. 9JohnMiddletonand David Tait, eds., Tribes WithoutRulers:Studiesin African Segmentary Systems(London: Routledge& Kegan Paul I958), 3. It shouldbe noted on thosehaving"segthatthebook does not deal withthesesocieties;it concentrates whereexitresembles secessionratherthanemigration. mentary lineagesystems," 10Marshall,"!Kung BushmanBands" (i960), reprintedin Cohen and Middleton (fn.6), I7, 34-35.

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thatare reflected in thefinalfission, when and notlinealrelationships thecampdividesintoa numberof independent camps,or sub-bands, one or anothersubeachgoingitsown way.If thedisputeis serious, and seekto join up withthat band maygo offto anotherterritory, band.... notonlyfora dipSo themonthly changeofcampis an opportunity ofthelayout, latenthostilities, butit lomatic rearrangement minimizing theeconomic oftheband is alsoan opportunity forimproving strength fromit.1" by eitheradding to it or subtracting

By bringingtogetherthesevarioussituations-whichRousseauhit thatsomeforms uponbypurededuction-I hopeto have demonstrated of statelessness are closelyassociatedwith the possibility and regular practiceofexit.Butit is byno meanseasyto interpret thenatureofthis association.The factthatmy mostexplicitexamplesin Americaand Africacomefrombandslivingin thinlypopulatedtropicalrainforests or savannahssuggeststhattheavailability of at leastminimallyfertile, attractive and unoccupiednaturalresourcesmakes exit permanently theemergenceof anylargerpoliticalgroupingwithstate-like prevents authority. Such availability, however,is not a sufficient conditionfor or lord-laborer statelessness: withina lord-peasant context,exactlythe samesituation has been quiteplausiblyinvokedby Nieboerand others of slavery.12The presenceof "open reas favoringthe introduction in shapingpoliticalforms;but,dependsources"is no doubtimportant it can lead eitherto a highlycoercive ing on othersystemdeterminants, or to one thatlacksanyspecializedand permanently system constituted politicalauthority. Moreover,thesetwo polaroppositesdo not exhaust the universeof possibilities: afterall, Nieboer's"open resources"are notso farfromTurner's"openfrontier."13 In any event,I do not wish to propoundhere an ecologicaltheory of stateless societies. me is notso muchthefundamental What interests reasonforwhichexittakesplace withsuch regularity as the political of effects institutionalized exit.One of theseeffects is the non-emergence of large,centralizedsocietieswithspecializedstateorgans.Anotheris the apparentstabilityof the statelessness-cum-exit condition 11Colin M. Turnbull,Wayward Servants: The Two Worlds of the African Pygmies (London: Eyre& Spottiswoode i965), io6. Turnbullattempts to explainthisconstant of the Mbuti bands by theirantagonistic "fluxand instability" relationship with the are unableto assertthe lineal and settledvillagerswho,as a resultof thisconfusion, territorial rightstheyclaimovertheMbuti. 12H. J.Nieboer,Slavery as an Industrial System (The Hague: Nijhoffi900); Evsey Domar,"The Causesof Slaveryor Serfdom:A Hypothesis," journal of Economic History,xxx (MarchI970), I8-32. 13Nieboerand FrederickJacksonTurnerwere contemporaries, but were probably as a factorconduciveto slaveryand unawarethatone was speakingof "openresources" as conditioning theotherof the "openfrontier" American-style democracy.

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time.Politicalarrangements thatareunoverwideareasandthrough fission and stableat thelevelofindividual bands,withtheirconstant stable-asthoughfrozenin thispattern fusion, havebeenremarkably of instability-when lookedat froma slightly moremacropointof view.One reasonis thattheexitpatternof conflict behavior,once set, is verydifficult to changeexceptthroughsome outsideeventsuch as invasionor exhaustionof the "open resources."Once again,the practiceofexitis self-reinforcing. Once thisavoidancemechanismfordealing withdisputesor ventingdissatisfaction is readilyavailable,thecontribution of voice-that is of the politicalprocess-to such mattersis likelyto be and to remainlimited.14 In accounting forstability, one wouldwishto knowsomething about thefeedbackeffectof exiton the organizationthatis beingleft:does the organizationtake noticeof exitsby its membersand act in consequencein such a manneras to remedyits weaknessesand inefficiencies?Unfortunately, theanthropological studiesI haveciteddo not supplymuchmaterialin answerto thisquestion.When exitoccursas a resultof disputesbetweenthetwo parties,it probablyjust produces satisfaction forthe one thatremains,and a "good riddance"reaction. Accordingto some of the descriptions, however,exit resultsnot only fromthepush of internaldispute,but also fromthe pull of "superior management"of otherbands.In sucha case,thebandsthatare losing membersare inorelikelyto reactto theloss by attempting to improve theirownperformance. In viewofthestability ofthesesocieties through time,one may perhapsinferthatsuch a stabilizingfeedbackprocess mustbe at work: if exit were alwayscumulative,with losingbands neverbeingable to recouptheirlosses,a tendency towardconsolidation of the manybands intoone would have asserteditself.(Anotherexplanationwhythisdoes not occurwould be thatthereis some sortof optimalsize forbandswithdiseconomies of scale settingin if thissize is exceeded.) of the societiesjust reviewed,parThe exitbehaviorcharacteristic whenexitfromone band involvesentryintoanother,"better ticularly similarto what has been called "voting managed"one, is remarkably it withone'sfeet."Because resembles theworkingof themarketwhere a buyeris freeto switchfromone sellerto another,somequartershave celebratedthismechanismas far more "efficient" than the "cumbersome" politicalprocessfor the redressof people's grievancesor the oftheirdemands.15 fulfillment becauseof differences Unfortunately, in 14 This is trueevenforso elaborate a function as thatof the "leopard-skin chief"of theNuer in mediatingdisputes.See Evans-Pritchard (fn. 8), 29I-95. 15MiltonFriedman,Capitalismand Freedom (Chicago: Chicago University Press

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theability tovotewithone'sfeetis unequally disincomeandwealth, In theUnitedStates, wheretheproblem in modernsocieties. tributed

is compoundedbecauseof race discrimination, inequalityin accessto such as the "ghettoization" exithas had someappallingconsequences, and partialruinof our big cities.It is possiblethata moresatisfactory economist'spoliticaldream is approximation of the neo-laissez-faire foundin thesocietiesoftheforestpeoplein CentralBraziland Central of course,theirshas notbeen a perfect Africa;in historical perspective, solutioneither,sincetheyhave turnedout to be no matchfortheperand endowed haps less efficient, but morepowerfulsocieties-exitless witha centralizedpoliticalorganization-thataroseelsewhere. II. MOVABLEPROPERTYAND ITS EXIT AS A RESTRAINTON THE STATE

is precisely The Europeanstatesystemofthe I7thand i8thcenturies thatsortof societyin one of itspurestforms.To a considerable extent, the absolutiststatearoseas a resultof a laboriousand eventuallysucand territorial unification ofa geographicessfulfightfortheformation cal unit. Particularlyon the European Continent,the statewas, as "obsessedbythedemonofexit,"exitbeing SamuelFinerhas remarked, takenherein thesenseofterritorial It is ironic, autonomyor secession.'6 then,and was so sensedbysomei8th-century observers, thatas soon as one formof exit had been broughtundercontrol,anotherraisedits head becauseof the expansionof commerceand financewhich was activelypromotedby the absolutiststate.With thisexpansion,a new formofwealthassumedincreasing It was namedmovable importance. in contrast with unmovable form-land the wealth, and buildingsin whichthe bulk of assetshad traditionally been held. Montesquieu definedit as "money,notes,bills of exchange,stocksof companies, ships,all commoditiesand merchandise";he notedthatthisformof wealthcould moveaboutfromone countryto another.'7 What was thereactionof thestateand of enlightened opinionto the of thisnew formof wealthand to thepossibility discovery of itsexit? and aroused the rise of movablecapitalin the I7th The fears hopes by offermanyinteresting and i8thcenturies parallelswithsimilarlyconcaused quite recentlyby the rise of the multitradictory perceptions A comparative nationalcorporation.'8 studycannotbe undertaken here, i962), chap. 6; Charles M. Tiebout, "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures,"Journalof Political Economy, Vol. 64 (October I956), 4i6-24. 16

17 18

See Finer(fn.2),

II5

Montesquieu,Esprit des lois, XX, chap. 23. See Hirschman, The Passions and the Interests:Political Argumentsfor Capitalism

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ofreactions to theearlierphenomenon willperhaps buta briefsurvey besuggestive. of the new formof therewas a lag in the perception Initially, forpolitics.The of itspossibleimportance wealth,and particularly forhistheory caseofJames is striking. He is justlyfamous Harrington and distriburelating political forms and stability to theconcentration at a timewhenthemajormercantilist tionofproperty. Nevertheless, hisprincipal work, tracts abouttradeand bullionwerebeingwritten, anditsdistribuOceana(i656), focused exclusively on landedproperty tionas a determinant on thisscorebysomeofhis ofpolitics. Criticized bypointing, withan elabcontemporaries, helaterjustified hisposition ability of"Mony" oratemetaphor drawnfromfalconry, tothesuperior totaketoflight: Tho Richesin generalhave Wingsand be apt to bate; yetthosein Land are the mosthooded,and ty'dto the Perch,whereasthosein Mony have the least hold, and are the swiftestof flight..

.

. a Bank

neverpaid an Army;or payingan Armysoonbecameno Bank.But wherea Princeora Nobility hasan Estatein Land,theRevenuewherehaveToes that thisCharge,theretheirMen areplanted, ofwilldefray areRoots,andArmsthatbringforth whatFruitsyouplease.'9

Here was an eloquentdefenseof themodelused by Harrington. Butthevery"flightiness" forthispurpose ofmoneywhichhe stressed politicalconsequences raisedquestions aboutfavorable or unfavorable thatweretobe expected becamea substantial proas movable property ofa country's portion totalwealth. latera debatealongsuchlineswasin fullswing.It was One century noteverfullyjoined:thosewholookedat thenewphenomenon with of varieties hopeor alarm,respectively, usuallydealtwithdifferent For example, oneofthestrongest movableproperty. of denunciations onthe thenewformofwealthwasissuedbyDavidHumeas hefocused he predicted that essays, publicdebt.In oneofhislater"conservative" mustinfallibly "a grievous prevail"wereEnglandto allow despotism he castigated theholders thepublicdebttoexpandindefinitely; ofthe withthestate, ... whohaveno connexions who debt,the"stockholders in anypartoftheglobein whichtheychuse can enjoytheirrevenue toreside....1)20

Press I977), 95, and Part Two, beforeIts Triumph(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity

passim.

19See "The Prerogative in JamesHarrington, of PopularGovernment," Oceanaand OtherWorks,ed. JohnToland (3d ed.; London: A. Millar I747), 243. 20 Fromessay,"Of PublicCredit"in Hume, Writings on Economics,ed. E. Rotwein (Madison: University of WisconsinPress i970), 98-99.For a numberof tellingi8th-

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as theywerealsocalled or "stockjobbers" Exitofthe"stockholders," and near-bein a pejorative vein,is herejudgedas an actofdisloyalty features. Butthispassagestandsquite trayal, without anyredeeming alonein Hume'swritings; he had onlypraiseforthenew formsof did someof his mobilewealthgenerated by tradeand industry-as suchas Adam Smithand Montesquieu. friends and contemporaries, grounds forhailingthenewlyemerging Actually, thelatter discovered forselfformsof property, notin spitebutbecauseof theircapacity reviewargument thatisworth expatriation. Thisis a rather unexpected inginsomedetail. powerof Alwayson thelookoutforwaysin whichtheoverweening in the sawmuchpromise thesovereign couldbe checked, Montesquieu invention andexpanding useofthebillofexchange. ...

throughthismeans commercecould elude violence,and maintain

trader had onlyinvisible wealthwhich itself everywhere; fortherichest leavinganytrace.... couldbe senteverywhere without Sincethattime,therulershavebeencompelled togovernwithgreater wisdomthantheythemselves mighthaveintended; for,owingto these actionsof the sovereign(les events,the greatand suddenarbitrary tobe ineffective and ... only grandscoupsd'autorite')havebeenproven [to theprince].2' goodgovernment bringsprosperity

a largeportion ofwealth Thus,thefactthat,withIthebillofexchange, had becomemobileand elusiveand was capableof bothhidingand as a restraint on thegrandscoupsd'auis herecelebrated expatriation toritS contribution togoodgovernment.22 oftheprinceandas a positive wealthat ofpolitical toseizethecitizens' The newinability authority to theway as makinga fundamental willalsostruck others difference in whichgovernment was was likelyto be carriedon; theargument in a generalway(thatis,notjustwithregardto thebillof formulated it "avoids As private wealthexpands, exchange)bySirJamesSteuart: see Isaac Kramand finance, century quotesdenouncingthenew worldof stockjobbers nick,Bolingbrokeand His Circle: The Politicsof Nostalgiain the Age of Walpole Pressi968), 47-48,7I-76, 220, 246. (Cambridge:HarvardUniversity 21 Montesquieu (fn.I7), XXI, chap.20. 22 Laterin thecentury, Turgotbasedverysimilarhopeson theemigration ofpersons. on theImportance on RichardPrice'sObservations Commenting of theAmericanRevolutionhe wrote:"The asylumwhich [theAmericanpeople] opensto theoppressedof all nationsmustconsoletheearth.The ease withwhichit will now be possibleto take and thusto escapefromtheconsequencesof a bad governadvantageof thissituation, ment,will obligetheEuropeanGovernments to be just and enlightened." (Letterto PriceofMarch22, i778, in Oeuvres,Paris:Delance i8io, IX, 389.) Turgothereargues aboutthestatelosingcitizensas thoughitwerea firmimpelledbytheexitof customers The actualpoliticaleffects to improveits performance. of emigration on the sending and theirconsiderable are exploredin thenextsection. country diversity

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to seizeit.This makeshis graspwhenhe attempts [thestatesman's] tobe carried andmoredifficult on; he must morecomplex government ofartand addressas wellas ofpowerand authornowavailhimself ity.

23

possibleexitof capital(and of thecapitalists)Capitalflight-the on arbitrary restraint byboth government wasperceived as a salutary whoputforward several farmore Steuart, Montesquieu andSirJames ofeconomic exeffects aboutthelikelypolitical sanguine speculations withthemin theserespects,24 AdamSmithdiffered Although pansion. ofarguing thatthemobility andelusiveness hewentalongtotheextent fortaxation to be as "vexatious" of"capitalstock"makeitimpossible asitmight otherwise be: of which render theinterest circumstances Thereare. . . twodifferent ofdirect taxation thantherentof a muchlessproper subject money land. can andvalueofthelandwhich thequantity anymanpossesses First, withgreatexactness. andcanalwaysbe ascertained never be a secret, stock which hepossesses ofthecapital is almost Butthewholeamount everbeascertained withtolerable exactandcanscarce a secret, always intoeveryman'sprivate circumstances ... ness.. . . An inquisition andendless vexation as nopeople ofsuchcontinual wouldbea source couldsupport. whichcannot be removed, whereas stock landis a subject Secondly, oflandisnecessarily a citizen oftheparticueasily may.Theproprietor ofstock is properly a lies.Theproprietor inwhich hisestate larcountry to anyparticular attached andis notnecessarily citizen oftheworld, He wouldbe aptto abandonthecountry in whichhe was excountry. in orderto be assessedtoa burdensome inquisition, posedtoa vexatious wherehe could tax,and wouldremovehisstockto someothercountry orenjoyhisfortune moreat hisease.Byreeither carryon hisbusiness,

which ithad hisstock hewouldputan endtoall theindustry moving heleft. inthecountry which Stockcultivates land;stock emmaintained todrive tended from labour. A taxwhich anyparticular awaystock ploys source ofrevenue, bothto wouldso fartendtodryup every country, thesovereign andtothesociety.... whohaveattempted totaxtherevenue Thenations, arisaccordingly, ofanysevere ofthiskind,havebeen inquisition stock, instead ingfrom loose. . . estimation.25 tocontent themselves withsomevery obliged It wouldalmostseem,then,as thougheverything wereforthebest: on theonehand,thedangerous hadbeen exitin theformofsecession 23 Steuart, Inquiry into the Principles of Political Oeconomy (0767), I, ed. A. S. Skinner(Chicago: University of ChicagoPressi966), i8i; emphasisadded. 24 Hirschman (fn.I8), I00-II3. 25 Smith,The Wealthof Nations,ModernLibraryed., 8oo; see also pp. 345 and 858 forrelatedpassages;emphasisadded.

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moreor lesssuccessfully exorcisedby thepowerof the 17th-and i8thcenturystate;on the other,accordingto the convergingtestimony of Montesquieu,Sir JamesSteuart,and Adam Smith,that power was curbedby a new and beneficialvarietyof exitthatsurfacedas a result of economicexpansion:theabilityof capitaland capitalists to "remove theirstock"or,in modernterms,to "votewiththeirfeet"forthebest available"businessclimate." It is usefulto recalltheseearlyperceptions, if onlyto marvelat the distanceby whichtheyare separatedfromcontemporary ones. Today the international mobilityof capitalis infinitely greater(withinthe capitalistworld) than at the timeof Montesquieuand Adam Smith. There are numerousvarietiesof such mobility:transnational corporationscan move subsidiariesfromone country,consideredunsafe,to another;more threateningly, mobilitycan take the formof internato "rollover"theirloansto a countrythatis contionalbanksrefusing sideredto be "outofline."Still,theprincipalweaponis wieldedbythe of course by the more opulent country'sown citizens-particularly ones amongthem-as theyengagein capitalflighton a massivescale whenevertheyfeelthreatened by domesticdevelopments. Occasionallythesevariousexitsdo occur,accordingto the i8th-cenand capriciousactionsof the turyscript,in responseto the arbitrary sovereign.But a much less favorableinterpretation may be in order: exitofcapitaloftentakesplace in countries intendingto introducesome taxationthatwould curbexcessiveprivilegesof therichor somesocial the fruitsof economicgrowthmore reformsdesignedto distribute equitably.Undertheseconditions, capitalflightand itsthreataremeant to parry,fightoff,and perhapsvetosuch reforms;whateverthe outIt looks, come,theyare sureto makereformmorecostlyand difficult. of thekindof exitthatwas hailed as thoughtheavailability therefore, byMontesquieuand Adam Smithweretodaya seriousmenace:it damages the capabilityof capitalismto reformitself. Actually,thissituationdoes not affectall countriesequally.Capital is obviouslymuchlessofa weaponin thelargestand mostpowerflight wheretheownersof capitalfeelthatthereis no place else fulcountries to go. Here it can be expectedthatvoicewillbe activatedbytheimpossibilityof exit. Capitalistswill make elaborateattemptsto influence publicopinionand publicpolicy.An ideologyin defenseof capitalism will arise.At the same time,concessionsare likelyto be forthcoming of the systemare obviouslyneededand are essentialto wherereforms thatthecapitalistsystemcan itselfevolveand amelthedemonstration ioratethe problemsit creates.Purelyon the basis of the differential

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availability ofexitforcapitalandcapitalists, onemighttherefore expect thatthe largestand mostcentralcountries of the capitalist system wouldbe,at one and thesametime,theideological bulwarks of the system anditsmostactiveproblem-solvers; themoreperipheral states, on theotherhand,mightbe in thegripof an anticapitalist ideology, andwouldatthesametimeexhibit unconscionable extremes ofwealth and poverty. This "prediction," basedon a mostparismonious exitvoicemodel,is surprisingly correct in a number ofrespects. The combination ofan attitude of"standing up forcapitalism" withattempts to remedy thesystem's worstevilsis exemplified bybothVictorian EnglandandtheUnitedStatesofthe20thcentury; in manylessdeveloped on theotherhand,theabsenceofanystrong countries, ideological supportforcapitalism rather coexists oddlywithextraordinary difficulties at effective reform. facedtimeand againbyattempts Hereis perhaps a keytotheoldpuzzlewhyanticapitalist revolutions haveconsistently brokenoutat theperiphery rather thanat thecenterof thecapitalist system. In particular, themodeldoesnotexplaineverything. it Fortunately, withan important doesnotdealsatisfactorily groupofsmallcountries. A fewadditional factors musttherefore be introduced. III. EXIT AS A THREAT TO THE SMALL MODERN STATE AND SOME DEFENSIVE

STRATEGIES

thepotential as hasjustbeennoted, exitofcapital In thei8thcentury, discussed in termsofitsharmful was actively andofthecapitalists or on thecapital-losing state.Thismanneroflookingat beneficial effects to theexit-voice framework-almost disout-migration-so congenial inthei9thcentury, whichwitnessed appeared mosthumanmigration, on an unprecedented scale.Onlyrecently lyfromEuropeto America, of out-migration on sending havetheeconomicand politicaleffects in (ratherthanreceiving)statesagainattracted attention, primarily withtheso-calledbraindrain,a phenomenon thathas conjunction thanwithmassmigration. morein commonwithcapitalflight from The enormous out-migration Europeduringthei9thandearly aboutthefeedback 20thcenturies did notoccasionmuchreflection effecton thesendingstatesand theirpoliticalsystem becausetheoutordangers. flowdidnotprovoke On the anyvisiblepolitical problems thisalsoexplains durcontrary-and whyemigration, longprohibited and absolutist ing themercantilist eras,was so freelypermitted-it ofproblems, economic as wellas political. a number alleviated From

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the socialand economicpointsof view,theoutflow dampenedthe as well as theconcomitant rural-urban rapidincrease in population never and in spiteof itsmassiveproportions, emigration migration, withtherecruitto interfere reachedthepointwhereit wasperceived Fromthepointofview mentoflaborforexpanding domestic industry. ofthepolitical managers, out-migration had similarand relatedbenedissatisfied ficialeffects. Peoplewhochoseemigration wereobviously in somewaywiththecountry Withexit andsociety theywereleaving. availableas an outletforthedisaffected, theywerelesslikelytoresort to voice:theshipscarrying themigrants contained manyactualor and revolutionaries. The potential anarchists and socialists, reformers votehasbeen andthesocialist between inverse relationship emigration forItaly,in a studyforthedecadepreceding demonstrated statistically newimmigrants tendtobe,atleastinitially, WorldWarL"26Moreover, members thusrerelatively unvociferous of society;massmigration in theEuropean-American as a whole statesystem ducedsocialprotest and notonlyin thesendingcountries. Butthecontainment wasnottheonlypolitical effect ofsocialprotest andup toWorldWarI, ofout-migration. Throughout thei9thcentury in manyof therightofsuffrage and othercivilrights wereextended theveryEuropeanstates ofpeoplewere fromwhichlargecontingents In otherwords,exitand a certain kindof voiceincreased departing. hand-in-hand, eventhough, atthesametime,exitloweredthevolume ofanother moremilitant kindofvoice.Thesetwodevelopments may be causally connected: becausea number ofdisaffected peoplehad deitbecamecomparatively safeto openup thesystem to a larger parted, number ofthosewhostayedon. In thismanner, exit-emigration may havemadeitpossible fordemocratization andliberalization toproceed in severalEuropeancountries priorto WorldWar I without political stability beingseriously imperiled.27 Besidesbeingintrinsically interesting, theseconnections couldcontribute totheunderstanding ofcontemporary attempts at democratization.Mightit be said,forexample, thatthelarge-scale emigration of Greek,Portuguese, andSpanishworkers to FranceandGermany dur26John S. MacDonald, "AgriculturalOrganization, Migration and Labour Militancy in Rural Italy," Economic Historic Review, 2d series, xvi (i963-1964), 6I-75. 27 I have looked in vain for any speculation along such lines in the notable monographic studies on European migrations to the United States published as Dislocation and Emigration: The Social Background of American Immigrationin D. Fleming and B. Bailyn, eds., Perspectivesin American History,VII (Harvard UniversityI974). ProfessorBailyn tells me that in his currentwork on I7th- and i8th-centuryemigrationto North America considerableattentionis being given to the social and political context of emigrationin the sending country.

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ing theprosperous 6o's and early70'shas made it easierforthesecountriesto negotiatethedifficult passageto a moredemocraticorderthan wouldhavebeenthecaseotherwise? In part,thistopichas not receivedattention becausethe connection is ratherremoteand counterintuitive. That emigration ofdissenters will an authoritarian strengthen regimein theshortrunis obvious;notcontentwithallowingemigration, manysuchregimeshave takenit upon themselves to deportor ban theirpoliticalenemies-thatis, theydealt withthemin thisparticularmannerduringtheirmorehumanemoments.But the likelihoodthatopeningthe gatesand permitting outmigrationmay allow a regimeto liberalizeitselfseemsfarfetchedexceptto thosewho have takenan advancedcoursein exitand voice. Probablythe main reasonfor the lack of interestin the political of emigration is that,as explainedearlier,theseeffects had long effects whateverseemstobe goingwell beenso positive.We do notinvestigate no matterhow poorlywe understandtheunderlying process. In recentyears,however,emigration has notbeen whollybenignin itseffects on themigrant-losing countries. This appliesfirstof all to the braindrain: the size of the literature thathas grownup aroundthis topicstrongly suggeststhatit is widelyviewedas a problem.But even the i9th-century kind of emigrationbecame a problemwhen it gave a repeatperformance in the20th,such as, forinstance,the large-scale Irish emigrationto England duringthe postwarperiod. The long declineof the Irishpopulation,due to low birthratesand emigration, had cometo a stopduringthe 25 yearsfollowingIndependence(1922), whichcoincidedwiththeDepressionand theSecondWorldWar. But afterthe war and particularly in the 5o's, emigration,mostlyfrom ruraldistricts into urban Britain,surgedonce again and reachedthe highestlevelsin a century, in relationto the residentpopulation(i5 permilleperyearin i956-i96i.This outflowarouseddeep concernand becamean important public and politicalissue thatled to a decisive turnin economicpolicy.By thelate5o's, theold description of emigrationas a "safetyvalve" had been replacedby the image of a country fromhemophiliawith"bloodrunningout of itsveins."The suffering concernthat"Irelandwas a dyingcountry increasing ... led to callsfor new economicpolicies,the adoptionof variousplans by the different politicalparties,the appearanceof emigrationas an issue in a parliaelectionforthefirst theunopposedacceptance mentary time,and finally (in i958) of a nationaleconomicplan designedto developIrelandand preventemigration.""The plan was successfulin attracting foreign 28

NicholasR. Burnett,"Exit,Voice and Ireland,I936-58," unpub. (i977),

I5;

also

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towhat capitalandspurring industrialization, butitisan openquestion extent in the6o'swas due to the theconsiderable dropin emigration of theBritish plan'ssuccessor to thediminished absorptive capacity economy whichitself becameincreasingly troubled duringthatperiod. a similar WiththeIrishimmigrants anda environment encountering familiar languagein England,Irishemigration cameto assumeunusuallylargeproportions and was eventually perceived as a threatto Ireland's A similar national existence. situation arosein EastGermany, whichin thei950's experienced a floodof (illegal)emigration toward WestGermany. Besetwithconcerns rather tothoseoftheIrish, similar thegovernment oftheD.D.R. didnotbother to lookaroundforways ofmakingitself toitscitizens: moreattractive in i96i it simply closed itsfrontiers moreeffectively thanbeforebybuildingtheBerlinWall. The reactions of the two countries thatfeltthreatened by mass in parallelto similarly emigration werethusverydifferent, different of variousEuropeancountries reactions to thesuddenavailability of cheapwheatfromNorthAmericaand Russiain the 1870'S.29 East Germany adopteda primarily defensive to the strategy-comparable ofhigher onwheatbyFranceandGermany imposition tariffs inthelate on century; Ireland, theotherhand,attempted to meetthechali9th lengeof massexitby changingtheunderlying conditions thathad resultedin the outflow-andthis"creative response"is similarto Denmark's policiesofagricultural transformation. BothIrelandand EastGermany, had something in comhowever, mon:a newperception ofexitas a threat. withconsiderTheyreacted as thoughtheywerefullypersuaded, abledetermination, in linewith ofthefirst section ofthisessay, thethesis thattheexistence ofthestate withthevirtually is incompatible costless of exitand with availability toitas a routine ofcitizens to dissatisfaction. resort response No doubt,thesetwocountries andtheirexperiences in theso'swere cases.Butforthatveryreasontheyareofinterest specialpathological trouble as theyrevealpotential statesystem. spotsin thepresent With of capital,and unprecedented closercommunication, easycirculation ofhigh-level international states aretodayexposed mobility manpower, thaneverbefore.Smallstatesare particularly to moreexitpressures to thesepressures: a largecountry can oftenrathereasily vulnerable Burnett'sdoctoral dissertation,"Emigration and Modern Ireland" (School of Advanced InternationalStudies,JohnsHopkins UniversityI976). 29See Charles P. Kindleberger, "Group Behavior and InternationalTrade," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 59 (February I951), 30-46; and Peter A. Gourevitch,"International Trade, Domestic Coalitions, and Liberty: The Crisis of I873-96," journal of InterdisciplinaryHistory,viii (Autumn I977), 28I-3I3.

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froma smallcountry, an inflow ofcapitalor manpower accommodate a critical lossforthe whileas an outflow theseresources mayrepresent smallcountry. andEastGermanys Whyis itthattherehavenotbeenmoreIrelands has byno in thelast30 yearsor so? In part,no doubt,becauseentry freeButin viewoftheconsiderable unregulated."0 meansbeentotally forcapitalandpeople(especially domofmovement thathasprevailed and particularly it is likelythatmanystates, fortrainedpersonnel), which through smallones,havehiton variousdevicesand strategies intendencies towardexit.I shallbriefly theyhaveparriedexcessive mightwork. howsuchstrategies vestigate of improved In thecase of Ireland,theremedyforexitconsisted aboutexit worrying economic indeed,countries policyandconditions; paroftheircitizens, aspirations thebasiceconomic do wellto satisfy individual ticularly ofthemoremobileamongthem.Butfortunately, on thebasisof whichthe is nottheonlycriterion welfare economic to exitfromone'sown country and oftenagonizingdecision difficult ismade. andcrippling Whatis neededin ordertoavoidexcessive emigration to provideitsmembers withsome"attracbraindrainis fora society to leave.Besidesan tions"thatwillreinforce theirnormalreluctance such consumption, adequatesupplyof goodsavailableforindividual known ofwhatis to economists as "public attractions canalsoconsist of a society can enjoy(congoods";thatis,goodsthatanymember others oftheirenjoyment (consumpthereby depriving sume)without forexample, area powerandprestige, tion)ofthesegoods.A country's all of its the citizens, including publicgoodthatmaybe enjoyedby mostlowlyandpowerless. Alongtheselinesithaslatelybeenpointed mayfindit outthatsocialjusticemaybe a publicgood: individuals toliveina society whereincomedistribution is comparatively enjoyable Otherpublicgoodsthatcometo mindincludea long egalitarian."1 ininternational fornotbecoming conflict orforguaranrecord involved The lattertwowould liberties. teeinghumanrightsand democratic in a worldwheredetoitscitizens, makea country attractive especially habitstructive warfare erupts andwheremanygovernments frequently andmistreat opponents. criticism theirpolitical uallysuppress 30See AristideR. Zolberg,"International MigrationPoliciesin a ChangingWorld System,"to be publishedin WilliamH. McNeill and Ruth S. Adams,eds., Human Migration(Bloomington:IndianaUniversity PressI978). 31 LesterC. Thurow,"The IncomeDistribution as a Pure PublicGood," Quarterly journal of Economics, Vol. 85 (May I971), 327-36; David Morawetzand others,"Income Distribution and Self-RatedHappiness:Some EmpiricalEvidence,"Economic Journal,Vol. 87 (September I977),

5II-22.

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ofanyoneofthesepublicgoodsserves in a country The availability It is possibleto visualizea toholdexitat bayandtoincrease loyalty.32 of and freemovement in which,in spiteofclosecontact statesystem would never assume peopleand capital,exit threatening proportions wouldsupplyitscitizens witha different assortbecauseeachcountry on one area (or a cluster)as a mentofpublicgoods,withemphasis foritsowncitizens. Different countries specialattraction would'then theob"specialize"in power,wealth,growth, equity,peacefulness, of humanrights, and so on. Suchspecialization servance wouldcerthanifperformance ofnations tainlyresultin a morestablesituation such wereratedonlyalongonedimension, as percapitaGNP; in the toestablish an unambiguous latter case,itwouldbecomepossible rating and exitstowardthebestperformers amongcountries, wouldmount Achievements dangerously. alongthe variousdimensions just mentionedarenoteasilycombined intoa uniquepreference scaleorwelfare thatifa country's function; itislikely, however, citizens wereequipped witha modicum tostart ofloyalty with,theywouldvaluetheparticular areainwhichtheir excels-whatever thatmaybe-morehighly country An ethnocentric thanthatoftheothers. welfare function of thissort be a condition fora stablestatesystem maytherefore undermodern ofhighpotential circumstances mobility. solution to theproblemis perhapstoo The foregoing "polyphonic" is theobviousone thatthe beautiful to be real.Amongitsdifficulties ofpeacebyonecountry withthatofpower pursuit maybeincompatible is the fact Then there "all another. by that,frequently, goodthingsgo oneor a veryfewcountries together": maybe doingbest,or arepersuchas power, ceivedto do so, alongseveralimportant dimensions A related andgeneralopportunity. is thata wealth, education, problem andwelfare funchegemonic country mayimposeitsownpreferences tionuponpublicopinionaroundtheworld.As a result, in a especially communication worldwithintensive citizensof non-hegenetworks, wouldtend'togivea higher totheachievements moniccountries rating oftheleadingcountry thantothoseoftheirown. do smaller In thefaceofsuchdifficulties, countries havea secondline in otherwords, somefurther ofdefense? Is 'there, highlyvaluedpublic foritsmoremobilecitizens canprovide goodthata smaller country so A remarkby the thattheywill stillthinktwicebeforeemigrating? American ReneeFox,whohasbeenstudying sociologist, Belgiansociety in thisregard.Explaining is illuminating formanyyears, herlonginwiththatcountry, shesaysthatsheoriginally volvement foundBelgium 32

p. 78. See Hirschman(fn. i), chap.7, particularly

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shewas led to believethat"a tempting because,amongotherthings, thana largecountry smallcountry ... wouldbesimpler tocomprehend sense."Butthatpremise turned outtobetotally ina sociological untrue; I "if werenow askedto formulate manyyearslatershe exclaims, a sociological abouttherelationship hypothesis betweenthe size of a country andthecomplexity ofitssocialsystem, I wouldbe tempted to thatthere is an inverse suggest between that the relationship thetwo; is, smallerthecountry, themorecomplexitssocialsystem!""3 In conjunction withthe concernoverexcessive exit,thisremark raisesthe questionwhether complexity couldperhapsbe partof a attraction foritscitizens, country's as muchas anypositive achievement ofthepreviously mentioned kind.Foritis understood complexity insofaras thecountry's citizens areconcerned; theyknowhowtonavigate notonlyin theircountry's butamongitsidiosynexpertly, language, cratic ways,itsconflicts andfamiliar frustrations.34 WhenI first cameto livein Colombia, offered explanations ofvarioustome byColombians wouldinvariably puzzlingsituations startwiththesentence "Es que ese es un pals muyraro"("youmustrealizethatthisis a veryodd in enlightening me country"). Clearly, theytookconsiderable pleasure aboutsomething so well.Understood theyunderstood complexity may thenbe another can supplyto itscitizens, publicgooda society and thatis perhapsa clue to ReneeFox'sparadoxaboutsmallcountries beingmorecomplexthanlargeones.Withthelatterhavingso much defendthemselves goingforthem,thesmallercountries againstexcessiveexitthrough a plentiful ofunderstood supply complexity; and,with to thisparticular respect that"youcan't asset,thereis fullassurance takeitwithyou." 33 Fox, "An AmericanSociologistin the Land of Belgian Medical Research,"in PhillipE. Hammond,ed.,Sociologists at Work(New York: Basic Books i964), 349. 34 On the difference betweenthe "native's"viewsof his societyand the outsideobserver's,see CliffordGeertz, "On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding," AmericanScientist, Vol. 63 (January-February I975), 47-53.