Here Pipes emphasizes historical contingency as the culprit in Russia's poor development, even suggesting a counterfactual that property rights would have developed had the Mongols not invaded. Which was it? Historical forces deriving from the abundance of land, or the bad luck to have been invaded and overrun by the Mongols? Long-run pressures, or short-run accident? Not only does Pipes offer no answer, he doesn't even acknowledge the problem.
Perhaps this project would have been more rigorous and thorough had it been confined to a theme like Property and Freedom: Comparing Russia With the West, itself a monumental task. Of course, such a book probably would have appealed to a readership small enough to fit inside a small theater, so Pipes shouldn't be faulted for expanding his horizons.
Pipes' final chapter, which addresses the 20th century, is especially representative of the book's promises and frustrations. Pipes wants to show how conflicts about property rights are all of a piece, but in the conclusion his reach clearly exceeds his grasp. Big issues, including the rise of socialism and fascism as well as the growing welfare state, are given parallel treatment (in separate sections) with small American policy debates about busing or affirmative action. The discussion is much too limited, even superficial, and the links between cause and effect are not well established.
Such shortcomings are evident from the chapter's opening sentence: "Of all the ages in history, the twentieth century has been the least favorable in the institution of private property, and this for both economic and political reasons." Surely Pipes did not mean that. He probably wished to argue that from an intellectual standpoint, the number of challenges to modern property rights that have emerged is unprecedented. (This tendency to confuse intellectual elites' attitudes toward property with the actual functioning of social institutions also marks Pipes' discussion of the French Revolution.)
Yet it is the very success of property rights in fact that has made the variety of governmental intrusions, whether small or large, seem so indefensible. Similarly, the state may have been smaller (in terms of tax revenue) before the 20th century, but this did not make it less intrusive or arbitrary. Furthermore, the rise of modern technology, though it has promoted collectivization in some circumstances, has done much to safeguard rights by enabling us to avoid regulation. But the role of technology in restricting state authority does not play any serious role in this last chapter. Indeed, it is missing throughout the book.
Surely one of the reasons why European governments have tended to liberalize some aspects of international finance more rapidly than other areas is that the ease with which large capital moves around the world makes it more likely that an overly restricted system will suffer much with few benefits. Hence our freedom from arbitrary confiscations beyond a certain point is safeguarded by a technology that makes seizure of physical property not nearly so important as transfers of financial, commercial, and intellectual capital. Market competition and new technology have often been the undoing of the most hidebound collectivist. Again, the historian's tendency to emphasize conscious design and statesmen's intent rather than actual performance restricts Pipes' ability to investigate the de facto evolution of world property rights.
Despite the book's shortcomings, it is a stimulating and educational tour. Promoting the virtues of private property and freedom is always necessary--even in these days when the idea of the market economy seemingly stands triumphant. As events surrounding the World Trade Organization's Seattle meeting demonstrated, the forces of reaction are ever ready to denounce our era and wait for a crisis to try to return us to the collectivist dreams of yesteryear. Pipes reminds us that socialism is one of the oldest of human fantasies, and perhaps the most destructive. And this treatise seeks to show how nations have struggled mightily to break free of such illusions. For that we should applaud and encourage the author.
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