Fixed statutes and regulations often have variable consequences over time. If left unattended, such drift can severely erode the performance of government as an institution of representation. To better understand the mechanics of policy-making in a changing world, we develop a positive theory...

Putting the world to work -- The birth of energy -- The novelty of energy -- A steampunk production -- A geo-theology of energy -- Work becomes energetic -- Energy, race, and empire -- Energopolitics -- The imperial organism at work -- Education for empire -- A post-work energy politics.

The British Industrial Revolution triggered a reversal in the social order whereby the landed elite was replaced by industrial capitalists rising from the middle classes as the economically dominant group. Many observers have linked this transformation to the contrast in values between a...