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Niall Ferguson

The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die Paperback – 30 Jan. 2014

by Niall Ferguson (Author)

4.2 698 ratings

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The decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Symptoms of decline are all around us today: slowing growth, crushing debts, ageing populations. But what exactly is amiss with Western civilization? The answer, Niall Ferguson argues, is that the institutions that were once the four pillars of Western society - representative government, the free market, the rule of law and civil society - are degenerating.

The Great Degeneration is a powerful indictment of an era of negligence and complacency. To stop us frittering away the institutional inheritance of centuries, Ferguson warns, will take heroic leadership and radical reform.

'A refreshing perspective on the economic decline of advanced countries and the origins of the crisis' Samuel Brittan, Financial Times

'He writes with splendid panache and a seemingly effortless, debonair wit' The Times

'One of the most incisive writers of history, politics and economics today' Sunday Telegraph

'Niall Ferguson has transformed the intellectual landscape' Economist

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin
Publication date

30 Jan. 2014
Dimensions

12.9 x 1.1 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

0141975237
ISBN-13

978-0141975238
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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 Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard, and a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His most recent book is The Square and the Tower.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin (30 Jan. 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141975237
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141975238
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.1 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 318,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 894 in Economic History (Books)
- 921 in Economic Conditions (Books)
- 2,438 in Business & Economic History

Customer reviews:
4.2 698 ratings

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Niall Ferguson

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Niall Ferguson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, former Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and current senior fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and founder and managing director of advisory firm Greenmantle LLC. The author of 15 books, Ferguson is writing a life of Henry Kissinger, the first volume of which—Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist—was published in 2015 to critical acclaim. The World's Banker: The History of the House of Rothschild won the Wadsworth Prize for Business History. Other titles include Civilization: The West and the Rest, The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die and High Financier: The Lives and Time of Siegmund Warburg. Ferguson's six-part PBS television series, "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World," based on his best-seller, won an International Emmy for best documentary in 2009. Civilization was also made into a documentary series. Ferguson is a recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Service as well as other honors. His most recent book is The Square and the Tower: Networks on Power from the Freemasons to Facebook (2018).

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ZhuaZi

Well-Written, but with possible flaws

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 16 April 2018

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Niall Ferguson writes excellently and his pessimistic arguments about the decay of western civilization are persuasive and engaging. I struggled with the chapter on debt and finance, as many others without an expert background will surely do, but the chapters on law, civic responsibility and education managed to address the relevant issues in a clear and approachable way. I agree with a lot of his points, although you often get the impression his politics are influencing his arguments in a not unbiased way. However, whenever he wanders into my field of expertise (modern China), I get the impression he's sorely misinformed about life and thought in China; for example, he claims that the rate of private schools in East Asia (HK, Macau, Japan, Taiwan) are one of the main reasons for high achievement in maths in China, whereas anyone who's spent a day in a Chinese state school will realize this is nonsense. It's just so glaringly obvious that it's a culture obsessed with science and maths grades, an incredibly competitive and strict schooling system, insane pressure from parents and possibly a boost from genetics that ensure high maths achievements throughout East Asia. Although this is just a minor point of contention, it leads me to doubt a lot of his fundamental claims about the rest of the world, which he sees largely through an economic lens, when a cultural one might be more appropriate.

9 people found this helpful

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Kublai

The Decline of Institutions

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 January 2015

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A very interesting book, which goes quite quickly through the collapse of Western institutions, but reveals perceptively and with ease just how badly modern elites and those they rule have got it wrong. The one big failing of the book is that Ferguson seems unwilling to consider the influence of Protestant Christianity upon Western history and culture. He abruptly loses his direct logic and reasoning whenever (very briefly) discussing the Protestant faith. It's as if he really doesn't want it to be the case that it was influential and thus he finds that it wasn't.

And yet the rise of the West happened when Protestant Christianity changed society; and the degeneration of the West happened when Protestant Christianity declined.

Ferguson diagnoses the symptoms of the declining West brilliantly, and yet never asks why the institutions have degenerated. The answer I would suggest is because minds were inspired by God to think differently and build a new kind of civilisation, and now minds no longer are.

A book full of concise interesting argument. One of the few historians to talk honestly about the state of things and the rise and fall of systems and processes throughout nations and civilisations - and yet he doesn't look at the minds and souls behind the institutions.

3 people found this helpful

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Scott

Niall Ferguson a masterful writer.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 28 October 2015

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Niall Ferguson's work is masterful, his ability to impart knowledge to lay people with an interest in the subjects he is an authority on is outstanding. As a person who reads his work on a regular basis I found this Book of very good value, however, not with the standard level of fluidity that I find in his other works. Certainly I am grateful for all his wonderful writing.

One person found this helpful

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Amazonian

Not Ferguson's best work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 August 2013

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An ok read, but lacks the insight and brilliance of Niall Ferguson's earlier work. Central thesis is that the West is declining due to failure to maintain the principles which made it wealthy such as the rule of law, democracy, free markets, civil society etc. But this account cannot explain the growth of China which does not have any of these principles - corruption is rife, markets controlled and elections undemocratic. Also, Ferguson seems to be pushing a right wing ideology throughout the book even if that means contradicting himself. For example, Ferguson fiercely opposes state intervention in the economy, but supports the bail of the bankers. Overall, Ferguson is a great historian but mediocre political writer.

8 people found this helpful

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SEA WARRIOR

FLYING FROM LONDON TO CYPRUS? YOU'LL FINISH THIS BY THE TIME YOU'RE PASSING ROME

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 7 March 2020

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My Kindle told me I would take 3 hrs and 12 mins to finish this, and wasn't wrong. The author makes some good observations but the book would be much better if twice as long. I much preferred Niall Ferguson's weightier 'The Ascent of Money'.

2 people found this helpful

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Sezza

Complicated to follow

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 January 2013

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I got the gist of the author's argument throughout most of the book but still found it difficult to understand the first two chapters "The Human Hive" and "The Darwinian Economy," which was very statistical and made the flow of the book stilted for me, as I'm not an economist or statistician.

I have read a few of Niall Ferguson's books and watched two of his t.v series, which is why I picked this book.

One person found this helpful

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Alan Phillips

Ferguson's Dawn

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 27 July 2015

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A contentious but measured assessment of where we in the West have gone astray. The section on regulation is stark in its
portrayal of the causes of the recent financial meltdown and the chapter on civic responsibility should make us all consider
our societal obligations for a civilised world.

One person found this helpful

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dan

Great book! Prepare for depression

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 July 2013

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A short and highly readable summary of why the USA and the UK in particular (and the rest of the west in general) are royally screwed. Niall's diagnosis is well reasoned and wittily delivered and leaves you in a state of grudging acceptance of a grim diagnosis

I'm now off to buy some books on emigration....

5 people found this helpful

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