The Works of the Conservatives, 1871–82

Abstract

The incremental bundling of institutional innovations and political cooperation – best illustrated by the practice of straw candidacies, the elimination of the vice-presidency, and the inclusion of Liberals in government – stabilized the Republic. Together, these changes simultaneously minimized elite jealousies and enhanced the opportunities for the accumulation of power and prestige among the notables of a variety of localities. The upshot was balanced political competitiveness on an increasingly national public arena. Moreover, as the Republic began to consolidate politically, and as peace became normalized, there emerged a state endowed with sufficient legitimate authority to assume a developmental role. In other words, the arrow of causality, as we are about to see, clearly points to a new politics as the driving force behind material progress.