The Historical Evolution of Polities

In an earlier essay (North, 1981, Ch. 3) I developed a "Neo-Classical Theory of the State". This essay elaborates, extends and modifies that essay in three directions: 1. it incorporates time into the model; 2. it is explicitly concerned with the perceptions--the belief systems--that determine choices; and 3. it relates the belief systems to the external environment of the players; both the past environmental experiences that are incorporated in cultural conditioning and the present environmental experiences incorporated in "local learning".