> Chris and Wojtek are right; Carrol is wrong (although I suspect he
> overstated his case, rather than actually believing his own claim).
> Technological and economic innovations have influenced the behavior of
> governments far more than angry mobs - and I've never been one to
> underestimate the influence of angry mobs.
Not that there's a contradiction: technological or economic innovation => angry mobs => influence on government action is a perfectly good causal chain.