32nd book of 2024 complete:

The Invention of Power by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

A really interesting look at the game theory played out as a result of the Concordat of Worms in 1122, an agreement between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor.

TL;DR: the thesis argues that the agreement led to wealthier regions becoming more secular and leading to further increases in wealth, the Protestant Reformation, and scientific breakthroughs. The game theory is what, according to Mesquita, has led to the West having such a predominant role in the world.

The argument seems sound and is very well articulated. The only problem I really find is in the name of the book. Power was certainly “invented” long before this. The title seems more like an editors/publishers choice to sell books rather than sum up the thesis.

Overall, a really interesting book that covers a document that probably deserves as much attention as the Magna Carta and American Declaration of Independence, especially as it likely created the furtive ground for those later documents.