A culture of growth : the origins of the modern economy : the Granz Schumpeter Lectures : [Graz, November 2010] / Joel Mokyr

por Mokyr, Joel

Libro
ISBN: 9780691180960
Editor: Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, 2016
Descripción Física: 403 p. ; 21 cm
Signatura Copia Colección
12/133 11920 Libros modernos desde 1900

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.

Tabla de Contenidos

AKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
PART I: EVOLUTION, CULTURE AND ECONOMIC HISTORY: Chapter 1: Culture and economics
Chapter 2: Nature and technology
Chapter 3: Cultural evolution and economics
Chapter 4: Choice-based cultural evolution
Chapter 5: Biases in cultural evolution
PART II: CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS AND ECONOMIC CHANGE, 1500-1700: Chapter 6: Cultural entrepreneurs and choice-based cultural evolution
Chapter 7: Francis Bacon, cultural entrepreneur
Chapter 8: Isaac Newton, cultural entrepreneur
PART III: INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND PLURALISM IN EUROPE, 1500-1700: Chapter 9: Cultural choice in action: human capital and religion
Chapter 10: Cultural change and the growth of useful knowledge, 1500-1700
Chapter 11: Fragmentation, competition, and cultural change
Chapter 12: Competition and the republic of letters
PART IV: PRELUDE TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT: Chapter 13: Puritanism and Brithish exceptionalism
Chapter 14: A culture of progress
Chapter 15: The Enlightenment and economic change
PART V: CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE EAST AND WEST: Chapter 16: China and Europe
Chapter 17: China and Enlightenment
Epilogue: Useful knowledge and economic growth
References
Index.

Notas

Basada en la conferencia impartida por el autor en 16 de noviembre de 2010.

Bibliografía

p. 343-379.



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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.

Tabla de Contenidos

AKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
PART I: EVOLUTION, CULTURE AND ECONOMIC HISTORY: Chapter 1: Culture and economics
Chapter 2: Nature and technology
Chapter 3: Cultural evolution and economics
Chapter 4: Choice-based cultural evolution
Chapter 5: Biases in cultural evolution
PART II: CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS AND ECONOMIC CHANGE, 1500-1700: Chapter 6: Cultural entrepreneurs and choice-based cultural evolution
Chapter 7: Francis Bacon, cultural entrepreneur
Chapter 8: Isaac Newton, cultural entrepreneur
PART III: INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND PLURALISM IN EUROPE, 1500-1700: Chapter 9: Cultural choice in action: human capital and religion
Chapter 10: Cultural change and the growth of useful knowledge, 1500-1700
Chapter 11: Fragmentation, competition, and cultural change
Chapter 12: Competition and the republic of letters
PART IV: PRELUDE TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT: Chapter 13: Puritanism and Brithish exceptionalism
Chapter 14: A culture of progress
Chapter 15: The Enlightenment and economic change
PART V: CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE EAST AND WEST: Chapter 16: China and Europe
Chapter 17: China and Enlightenment
Epilogue: Useful knowledge and economic growth
References
Index.

Notas

Basada en la conferencia impartida por el autor en 16 de noviembre de 2010.

Bibliografía

p. 343-379.


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12/133