A Culture of Growth
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-18096-0 (ISBN)
From Nobel Prize–winning economist Joel Mokyr, a revealing look at why Enlightenment culture sparked the Industrial Revolution
During the late eighteenth century, innovations in Europe triggered the Industrial Revolution and the sustained economic progress that spread across the globe. While much has been made of the details of the Industrial Revolution, what remains a mystery is why it took place at all. Why did this revolution begin in the West and not elsewhere, and why did it continue, leading to today's unprecedented prosperity? In this groundbreaking book, celebrated economic historian Joel Mokyr argues that a culture of growth specific to early modern Europe and the European Enlightenment laid the foundations for the scientific advances and pioneering inventions that would instigate explosive technological and economic development. Bringing together economics, the history of science and technology, and models of cultural evolution, Mokyr demonstrates that culture—the beliefs, values, and preferences in society that are capable of changing behavior—was a deciding factor in societal transformations.
Mokyr looks at the period 1500–1700 to show that a politically fragmented Europe fostered a competitive "market for ideas" and a willingness to investigate the secrets of nature. At the same time, a transnational community of brilliant thinkers known as the “Republic of Letters” freely circulated and distributed ideas and writings. This political fragmentation and the supportive intellectual environment explain how the Industrial Revolution happened in Europe but not China, despite similar levels of technology and intellectual activity. In Europe, heterodox and creative thinkers could find sanctuary in other countries and spread their thinking across borders. In contrast, China’s version of the Enlightenment remained controlled by the ruling elite.
Combining ideas from economics and cultural evolution, A Culture of Growth provides startling reasons for why the foundations of our modern economy were laid in the mere two centuries between Columbus and Newton.
Joel Mokyr, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, is the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University and Sackler Professor at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University. His books include (with Avner Greif and Guido Tabellini) Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000 (Princeton).
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xiii
Part I: Evolution, Culture, and Economic History
Chapter 1: Culture and Economics 3
Chapter 2: Nature and Technology 16
Chapter 3: Cultural Evolution and Economics 22
Chapter 4: Choice-based Cultural Evolution 34
Chapter 5: Biases in Cultural Evolution 43
Part II: Cultural Entrepreneurs and Economic Change, 1500-1700
Chapter 6: Cultural Entrepreneurs and Choice-based Cultural Evolution 59
Chapter 7: Francis Bacon, Cultural Entrepreneur 70
Chapter 8: Isaac Newton, Cultural Entrepreneur 99
Part III: Innovation, Competition, and Pluralism in Europe, 1500-1700
Chapter 9: Cultural Choice in Action: Human Capital and Religion 119
Chapter 10: Cultural Change and the Growth of Useful Knowledge, 1500-1700 142
Chapter 11: Fragmentation, Competition, and Cultural Change 165
Chapter 12: Competition and the Republic of Letters 179
Part IV: Prelude to the Enlightenment
Chapter 13: Puritanism and British Exceptionalism 227
Chapter 14: A Culture of Progress 247
Chapter 15: The Enlightenment and Economic Change 267
Part V: Cultural Change in the East and West
Chapter 16: China and Europe 287
Chapter 17: China and the Enlightenment 321
Epilogue: Useful Knowledge and Economic Growth 339
References 343
Index 381
| Erscheinungsdatum | 12.06.2018 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 1 line illus. |
| Verlagsort | New Jersey |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 133 x 203 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte | |
| Wirtschaft ► Volkswirtschaftslehre | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-691-18096-2 / 0691180962 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-691-18096-0 / 9780691180960 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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