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The Wealth Explosion: The Nature and Origins of Modernity
How did the modern dynamist economy of wealth and opportunity come about? This major new analytical work emphasizes the often surprising, fundamental and continuing processes of innovation and transformation which has produced the world we live in now. / Today we live in a social and economic world that is fundamentally different from the one inhabited by our ancestors. The difference between the experience of people living today and that of all of our ancestors back to the advent of agriculture is as great as that between them and their hunter-gatherer forebears. The processes of transformational changes could have started many times in history - but they first became sustained in North-West Europe about 240 years ago. The question of why this happened in that particular place and time is one that has exercised generations of scholars. Thanks to that work we now have a much clearer idea of how and why the traditional world of our ancestors was so different from the modern world that we inhabit. This book builds on that work and gives a new answer to the question of why and how things changed, showing that this unprecedented breakthrough was the result of the way a particular world-historical process worked out in Europe - largely because of contingent and accidental factors. / The book also considers the question of what kind of world it is that we now live in - and whether it can continue. / Introduction. / Chapter 1. The Way We Live Now – and the Way We Once Lived. / Ch. 2. Debates and Theories. /Ch. 3. Song China and the Ming Restoration – A Case Study./ Ch. 4. The Military Revolution and the World it Made. / Ch. 5. The European Divergence. / Ch. 6. The Scientific Revolution and the Shaping of the Modern Mind. / Ch. 7. The Enlightenment and the Advent of Modernity. / Ch. 8. The World We Live in – For Now. / Are We Still Living in Western Civilization?
248 pages, Paperback
Published April 29, 2019
106 people want to read
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July 26, 2024
I just finished reading Stephen Davies' “The Wealth Explosion: The Nature and Origins of Modernity.” This concise yet rich book explores the second singularity—the shift to industrialism and modernity. Davies argues that the standard of living in the last 200 years is markedly better than before, attributing this to industrialization’s intensive growth. Instead of using more resources for the same output, we now create new things with fewer resources.
Davies emphasizes the dramatic rise in life expectancy and quality of life, the global improvement in living conditions, and the significant reduction in absolute poverty. He attributes the stagnation in some regions to the lack of industrialism and predicts that by 2050, 44% of the world's poorest will live in Nigeria or the DR Congo.
On moral development, Davies notes that modern people care about distant strangers' well-being, and leaders must genuinely consider their subjects' welfare. Today’s state administration, despite issues, is relatively efficient, moral, and honest. War and violence are no longer the norm, and slavery and discrimination have decreased worldwide.
Davies also examines why modernity didn't emerge earlier in other civilizations, such as the Roman Empire or the Song Dynasty in China. He attributes Europe's patchwork of kingdoms as a factor, but this explanation falls short. The book's case study on the Song Dynasty is particularly compelling, showing intense growth and innovation. However, post-Mongol invasion policies led to disastrous setbacks.
Critically, Davies' book lacks statistical backing, relying heavily on narrative. While stories can be persuasive, they risk oversimplifying complex historical events. Davies’ portrayal of industrial England also overlooks the necessity of savings, investments, and the right socio-economic conditions for economic development.
Overall, Davies' “The Wealth Explosion” is a captivating read that aligns with the works of Steven Pinker and Hans Rosling. However, the absence of statistical rigor and reliance on broad historical narratives may leave readers questioning some of its conclusions.
Davies emphasizes the dramatic rise in life expectancy and quality of life, the global improvement in living conditions, and the significant reduction in absolute poverty. He attributes the stagnation in some regions to the lack of industrialism and predicts that by 2050, 44% of the world's poorest will live in Nigeria or the DR Congo.
On moral development, Davies notes that modern people care about distant strangers' well-being, and leaders must genuinely consider their subjects' welfare. Today’s state administration, despite issues, is relatively efficient, moral, and honest. War and violence are no longer the norm, and slavery and discrimination have decreased worldwide.
Davies also examines why modernity didn't emerge earlier in other civilizations, such as the Roman Empire or the Song Dynasty in China. He attributes Europe's patchwork of kingdoms as a factor, but this explanation falls short. The book's case study on the Song Dynasty is particularly compelling, showing intense growth and innovation. However, post-Mongol invasion policies led to disastrous setbacks.
Critically, Davies' book lacks statistical backing, relying heavily on narrative. While stories can be persuasive, they risk oversimplifying complex historical events. Davies’ portrayal of industrial England also overlooks the necessity of savings, investments, and the right socio-economic conditions for economic development.
Overall, Davies' “The Wealth Explosion” is a captivating read that aligns with the works of Steven Pinker and Hans Rosling. However, the absence of statistical rigor and reliance on broad historical narratives may leave readers questioning some of its conclusions.
Displaying 1 of 1 review