The Mechanics of Modernity

the institutional origins of social change and stagnation

For most of its history Europe was a thoroughly average part of the world: poor, uncouth, technologically and culturally backward. By contrast, China was always far richer, more sophisticated and advanced. Yet it was Europe that first became modern, and by the nineteenth century China was struggling to catch up. This book explains why. Why did Europe succeed and why was China left behind? The answer, as we will see, does not only solve a long-standing historical puzzle, it also provides an explanation of the contemporary success of East Asia, and it shows what is wrong with current theories of development and modernization.

The book is published twice, under different titles. For the paperback, published by Anthem Press, I came up with the idea of calling it “Why Europe Was First.” The idea was that it would sound less boring and academic (to go with the man on the dragon roller-coaster). Yet it’s the same book as “Mechanics of Modernity,” published by Routledge. Take your pick.

Book blog

Erik

Make my day

“A wonderful book for an ignorant reader: it makes me a bit less narrow minded. One of best.”

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Erik

Topping the charts

Topping the charts Rather inexplicably, The Mechanics of Modernity is doing really well on the Amazon sales charts. The rankings vary a bit since they are updated hourly, but right

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Erik

Comments on Comments

Comments on comments My short, 1,500, word piece with “Comments on McCloskey and Weingast” was just published in Scandinavian Economic History Review. You can read it here. Remarkable how this happened. Once

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A newer, more radical, modernity

A Newer, More Radical, Modernity I just finished another article, “A Newer, More Radical, Modernity: A Prolegomena to a Politics of the Potential.” You can read it here.  The abstract goes

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Erik

Comments on McCloskey and Weingast

Comments on McCloskey and Weingast I wrote this brief, 5-page, article in response to the articles by Deirdre McCloskey and Barry Weingast in the Scandinavian Economic History Review. You can

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