The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die - Softcover

Ferguson, Niall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846147433 ISBN 13: 9781846147432

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2012

Synopsis

Paperback. Pub Date :2012-09-01 Language: English Publisher: Penguin Export The decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Symptoms of decline are all around us today. it seems: slowing growth. crushing debts. aging populations . anti-social behaviour. But what exactly is amiss with Western civilization The answer. Niall Ferguson argues. is that our institutions - the intricate frameworks within which a society can flourish or fail - are degenerating. Representative government. the free market. the rule of law and civil society: these were once the four pillars of West European and North American societies. It was these institutions. rather than any geographical or climatic advantages. that set the West on the path to global dominance after around 1500. In our time . however. these institutions have deteriorated in disturbing ways. Our democracies have b...

About this title

Review:

Brilliantly written, full of wit and virtuosity, stuffed with memorable lines and gorgeous bits of information. A great read (The Times (on Civilization))

A dazzling history of Western ideas ... epic (Economist)

This is sharp. It feels urgent. Ferguson... twists his knife with great literary brio (Andrew Marr (on Civilization))

A masterpiece ... fascinating facts burst like fireworks on every page (Sunday Times)

Brings history alive for the reader with a dazzling knowledge ... peerless (Independent on Sunday)

About the Author:

Niall Ferguson is one of Britain's most renowned historians. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He has written fourteen books, including The House of Rothschild, Empire, The War of the World, The Ascent of Money, The Great Degeneration and Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist. His many prizes include the Benjamin Franklin Prize for Public Service (2010), the Hayek Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2012) and the Ludwig Erhard Prize for Economic Journalism (2013).

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846147433
• ISBN 13: 9781846147432
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192