The Duel of Honor: Screening For Unobservable Social Capital

The duel of honor was a highly ritualized violent activity practiced(mostly) by aristocrats from about 1500 to 1900. The duel ofhonor was held in private, was attended by seconds and othermembers of society, was illegal, and often resulted from trivialincidents. Duels were fought according to strict codes, theirlethality fell over time, and certain members of society werenot allowed to duel. We argue dueling functioned as a screenfor unobservable investments in social capital. Social capitalwas used during this period to support political transactionsin an age when high civil service appointments were made throughpatronage. The screening hypothesis explains the puzzling featuresof the duel of honor, its rise and fall over time and locations,and the differences between European and American duels. In a state of highly polished society, an affront is held tobe a serious injury. It must, therefore, be resented, or rathera duel must be fought upon it; as men have agreed to banishfrom their society one who puts up with an affront without fightinga duel.

—Samuel Johnson, quoted in James Boswell