Scan barcode
A review by pashtet31
How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity by Rodney Stark
5.0
As some already pointed, this book is "MythBusters" for history.
Although the description is correct, it seems to me, that we are rather dealing here with some kind of cycle of "MythBustering". It was obvious to most people that the western civilization is superior to others (in terms of ability to achieve economic growth), then it was not so obvious (partially due to political correctness), and now it is rather obvious once again (because of advances in history sciences and new institutionalisms movement in economics).
Some interesting ideas include:
*Roman Empire was a setback for development
*There was no “dark ages”; it was a period of rapid progress and innovation
*Christianity was among the greatest innovation in history
The authors arguments are sometimes quite superficial and naïve, but as far as I know (regarding the role of institutions in the process of economic and social development) there are a lot of real research supporting authors basic claims.
Although the description is correct, it seems to me, that we are rather dealing here with some kind of cycle of "MythBustering". It was obvious to most people that the western civilization is superior to others (in terms of ability to achieve economic growth), then it was not so obvious (partially due to political correctness), and now it is rather obvious once again (because of advances in history sciences and new institutionalisms movement in economics).
Some interesting ideas include:
*Roman Empire was a setback for development
*There was no “dark ages”; it was a period of rapid progress and innovation
*Christianity was among the greatest innovation in history
The authors arguments are sometimes quite superficial and naïve, but as far as I know (regarding the role of institutions in the process of economic and social development) there are a lot of real research supporting authors basic claims.