The Great Degeneration

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Sinopsis

Condición del ejemplar: Good. Why did the West, once the world’s most dynamic and prosperous civilization, begin to stagnate? In this sharp and provocative book, based on his BBC Reith Lectures, historian Niall Ferguson argues that the answer lies not in economic forces alone but in the decay of the institutions that made Western success possible. Ferguson identifies four pillars of a healthy society: representative government, the free market, the rule of law and civil society. He then examines how each has weakened. Governments have piled up debts that pass the burden to future generations. Financial regulation has become overly complex and ineffective. The rule of law has given way to the rule of lawyers. And the voluntary associations that once bound communities together have withered as citizens increasingly look to the state to solve their problems. Comparing the experiences of Europe and North America with those of rising powers in Asia and elsewhere, Ferguson shows how institutions shape the fortunes of nations, and warns of the consequences of allowing them to erode. Concise, lively and bound to stimulate debate, The Great Degeneration is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of Western democracy and prosperity.