Prime Movers: The real stories of twelve great thinkers from Pericles to Gandhi

by Ferdinand Mount

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

471 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2018

About the author

Ferdinand Mount was born in 1939. For many years he was a columnist at the Spectator and then the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times. In between, he was head of the Downing Street Policy Unit and then editor of the Times Literary Supplement. He is now a prize-winning novelist and author of, most recently, the bestselling memoir Cold Cream. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Tana · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are not men (and 1 woman) whom the author particularly admires (perhaps with the exception of Adam Smith & Jesus). But a collection of people who changed society/helped create the "modern" world

Pericles and the invention of democracy: considered by some as the father of democracy
- American founding fathers weren't too fond of him as they saw him as an agitator for war & populist (the Peloponnesian Wars distracted the population from issues at home/ anger away from him)
- ancient version of a populist leader
- democracy was considered chaotic and sneered at by the literati classes/"liberal elite" even back then.
- Borid Johnson was influenced by Pericles when he envisioned the London Assembly
- we add the prefix "Liberal" to avoid mob rule/ persecution of minorities
- Ostracism was invented by Cleisthens (the practise of exiling people by popular vote e.g. Themistocles) We still practise it today but in a different way.
- direct democracy was chaotic (referendums)
- lots of commentary from Plutarch & Thucydides eho called him "the first citizen of Athens"

Jesus and the Brotherhood of man:
-influenced the idea of brotherhood and every human being equal before God.
-lots of peace & love message because Jesus LOVES YOU
Enjoyed the story regarding the woman who committed adultery.
- Otherwise was an unfortunate drag to read.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the supreme self: enlightment philosopher, author of Discourse on Inequality, The Social Contract & Emile and influential thinker of the French Revolution
- accoridng to the book the germ of Rousseau's thought is: "hatred of the falseness that society forces upon us, a longing for the natural, uncorrupted state of man"
- Rousseau is the opposite of Hobbes (who believes that man in his natural state is evil and society and civilisation contains that evil side), Rousseau on the other hand believes that man in his natural state is peaceable and that civilisation makes him evil (this can be read also in Humankind by Rutger Bregman)
- according to the author wasn't a pleasent individual who was selfish, abandoned his children to an orphanage and was contemptuous of his lovers
-Voltaire spilled the beans about his practise of abandoning his kids, hence that was the only reason Rousseau made a point of seeking one out
- he fell out with Diderot (his friend), David Hume and Adam Smith weren't too fond of him either


Adam Smith and the invisible hand: economist, Scottish enlightenment philosopher & author of The Wealth of Nations
- explains the invisible hand "It is not from the benevolence of the Butcher, the Brewer or the Baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest"
- duties & customs are harmful to the consumer:Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.”
- big believer of the free market and limited government interference
- born in Kirkcaldy, Fife
- was a tax collector
- descriptions of his character, his observation of Johnson's society (freaky praying habits) was amusing, comparison of prostitutes (Irish being the hottest in his opinion).
- Smith was the 1st to coin the phrase "Nation of Shopkeepers" "To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers"
- Colonies: critical of the East India company which was a body of traders who couldn't govern. Favourable towards the Americas. Believed forcing the colonies (India etc) to only buy British was bad
- he believed most people were content and the UK was prosperous for almost all and was absent-minded towards those suffering from the transition from supply and demand (losing one's job due to a lack of demand & the interim period of finding new work may mean a lost period that can lead to death from starvation etc)
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Edmund Burke and the stickiness of society
-the father of modern conservatism was an Irish descent "Old Whig" politician which according to the book was on the "side of the underdog"
- Doctrine of representation
-was opposed to change. Particularly on political change to the system, according to the author a sort of "if it ain't broke, why fix it?"
- according to the author, he was opposed the slave trade (which was in direct conflict with his Bristol Merchant constituents). However, this is up for debate e.g. this article
-Always assumed he wrote this: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" but like the Voltaire quote it's not true.

Thomas Jefferson and the endless revolution
- One of the Founding Fathers of America
- accused King George III of being a big slaver when he owned several hundred slaves (and fathered some too)
- was an amateur architect, town planner, standardiser and into the climate & temperate
- I like this quote: “Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.”
- His book: Notes on Virginia is examined. Jefferson was worried about immigration, particularly the wrong kind who would urbanise Virginia. Free slaves, but ensure some went elsewhere so there's not too many in one place. Also lots of racist observations which i won't repeat, but good to know.
- George Washington freed all his slaves but Jefferson didn't, even at the time of his death.
- some doubt if Sally Hemings' children were indeed Jefferson's.
- glad to have finished his chapter *puke*

Jeremy Bentham and the management of Happiness
- hates organised religion
- probably had Asperger's
- his head was dispalyed at UCL (Auto-Icon)
- hated Common Law, believed it delayed justice.
- "it is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong

Mary Wollstonecraft and the rights of woman - and man too
- wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
- mother to Mary Shelley
- championed for the rights for all (men and women, kindness to animals)
- didn't know people from the UK would go for "jaunts to see The French Revolution happening" by popping down to France. Mary was prevented from going as the 2 men who accompanied her weren't keen when the September Massacres began (they had just reached Dover).

Giuseepe Mazzini and the religion of nationhood
- activist for the unification of Italy and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement.
- can he be blamed for nationalism?
- imagined a sort of European Union.
- made huge sacrifices for Italian independence, poor diet, dressed in grey or black, lived poor and donated what he had to the cause.
- briefly ruled from Rome
- inspired many including Gandhi

Karl Marx and the death of capitalism
-overly ceitical analysis on Marxism that was a little tedious without any insight
- Marx was fond of children
- Marx was keen on religion particularly Christianity or Judaism (he was born to Jewish parents)
- you should skip this chapter

Mohandas Gandhi and the non-violent path
- born in India, trained as a lawyer in London but moved to South Africa for work where he complained when ever he was mistreated
- was against the Caste system: Nothing in the Shastra, which is manifestly contrary to universal truths and morals, can stand."
- practised Satyagraha the philosophy of non violence
- wasn't bothered so much about African rights /liberation
- wanted unity for India as well as Independence
- Churchill's infamous quote on Gandhi is mentioned "It is alarming and nauseating to see Mr Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir. Striding half-naked up the steps of the Vice-regal Palace,"
- was weirdly cruel to his children (one who became an alcoholic and Muslim), wasn't very nice to his wife either. Was forced to marry young.

Muhammed Iqbal and the dream of Islam
- poet who helped create the idea of Pakistan
- influenced by Nietzsche & the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
- studied at Cambridge & Germany
- Kashmiri descent, born in Punjab
- unlike Jinnah (who are pork & drank alcohol) Iqbal was an admirer of a strict, austere version of Islam although he doesn't call himself a Wahhabi
- wanted a One Nation Muslim brotherhood that supersedes race, colour, language, nationality etc

[Sambasivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary book about a motley collection of leaders who were Mavericks and who pioneered ideas that were radical and transformative in the global history. The thoughts of Pericles,Wollstonecraft, Mazzini, Bentham and Burke were introduced to me through this book.

Quite analytical, informative and judgmental but objective in its conclusions.

Well worth a read.

[Guy Moss · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I have chosen a really diverse group of people as my greatest influencers of political thought", says the guy after choosing 7 of the 12 people to be English men living in the 17th to 19th centuries.

[Derek Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Mount is his usual suave self, but his choice of various Prime Movers and the treatment he gives them don't always grab. I mean, do we really need another potted history of Marx and his theories, or Gandhi for that matter? Some of the lengthy quotes drag on to little effect.

[Emily Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well written and compelling work, however I must dock a star due to what I feel is an overwhelming focus on white, male and European movers. I would be interested to see more of style of the last few chapters, which could give this work a broader worldview. Otherwise, really great stuff.