There's a big reason for all the violence and political instability in Westeros: competing economic systems.
That's according to Matthew McCaffrey, an economist at the University of Manchester, speaking in the latest episode of the podcast "Imaginary Worlds." McCaffrey tells host Eric Molinsky in a segment of the episode "Economics of Thrones and Starships" that the show is fascinating to economists because it depicts a huge range of economic systems existing at the same time. There are hunter-gatherer tribes, renaissance city-states, and countless feudal societies.
"Its not a surprise that in a system like this there wouldn't be much growth or change, you know, for centuries at a time," McCaffrey says.
McCaffrey points out that all those groups have different economic philosophies that clash with one another, sparking violence. Often those economic philosophies are evident in the "words," or mottos, of the different families.
He gives the example of the Greyjoys, whose house words are, "We do not sow."
"This is very much an economic and a political philosophy because what they're saying is, 'We reap the fruits of what others have sown,'" he tells Molinsky. "In other words: We are a predatory society."
Then there are the Lannisters, who repeatedly insist, "A Lannister always pays his debts."
That's especially important, he says, because the Lannisters secure their status as the most powerful family in the land through their enormous wealth. And they build that enormous wealth through credit with the Iron Bank, an institution so powerful its loans can shift the direction of war and history. Like the United States and other real-world superpowers, the Lannisters rely on excellent credit to invest in expanding their power. And in order to maintain that credit and power they have to squash all competitors.
The final economic philosophy he draws out of the show comes from the Starks, whose house words are, "Winter is coming."
Westeros is a land of scarcity, with hordes of Wildlings and White Walkers just beyond the wall threatening to end the good years any minute. The best thing to do, in the Starks' view, is prepare for the worst, stockpile resources, and secure the North. That economic philosophy brings them into direct conflict with the throne as early as season one, but McCaffrey says it's one more that the Houses (and real world societies) would do well to follow.
However, Molinsky notes, it doesn't work out too well for the Starks.
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