Tim, you make me think again about an argument I associate with Lonsdale and Berman in their attempt to theorize “the colonial state”...as a pile of contradictions more than one coherent thing. I guess it is applicable to all institutions developing through time.
I suppose I like Labaree for this reason--I generally see institutions in these terms, at a fairly fundamental level that very nearly amounts to a theoretical precept. I think most attempts to claim that institutions are the product of intentional design where the outcomes match the intention are post-facto ideologies or attempts by someone on the make to claim authority and credit for something they did not in fact create. Lugard didn't design the British colonial state in Africa; he didn't even do it in Nigeria, as some of his subordinates bitterly pointed out. He was just an aggrandizing windbag who benefitted from having several allies promote his claims in order to solidify their own reputation or authority.
Tim, you make me think again about an argument I associate with Lonsdale and Berman in their attempt to theorize “the colonial state”...as a pile of contradictions more than one coherent thing. I guess it is applicable to all institutions developing through time.
I suppose I like Labaree for this reason--I generally see institutions in these terms, at a fairly fundamental level that very nearly amounts to a theoretical precept. I think most attempts to claim that institutions are the product of intentional design where the outcomes match the intention are post-facto ideologies or attempts by someone on the make to claim authority and credit for something they did not in fact create. Lugard didn't design the British colonial state in Africa; he didn't even do it in Nigeria, as some of his subordinates bitterly pointed out. He was just an aggrandizing windbag who benefitted from having several allies promote his claims in order to solidify their own reputation or authority.