The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die

*A full executive summary of this book will be available at newb

*A full executive summary of this book will be available at newbooksinbrief dot com, on or before Tuesday, June 25.

The main argument: Over the past half-millennium the West has built up a substantial lead over other parts of the world when it comes to both economic power and material standard of living. Now, however, this lead is slipping away. Indeed, developing nations led by such powers as China and India are quickly closing the gap, as they are experiencing impressive economic growth, while the West is stagnating. Many argue that this is the natural result of globalization (and the fact that major corporations are taking advantage of cheaper labor in developing nations). For Harvard historian and writer Niall Ferguson, however, there is something deeper going on here. For Ferguson, the closing of the gap between the West and the Rest has less to do with the rise of the Rest, as the decline of the West, and particularly Western institutions.

Ferguson identifies 4 primary institutions that account for the West's success over the past half-millennium: 1. Democracy; 2. Capitalism; 3. The Rule of Law; and 4. Civil Society. Each of these, the author argues, has eroded in the recent past.

Beginning with democracy, Ferguson argues that the deterioration of democracy in our time has not so much to do with the break-down of the social contract between the individual and the state, as the break-down in the contract between the present generation and future generations. Specifically, by taking on the astronomical amount of public debt that many Western governments have taken on over the past half-century, we have undermined our own growth and unjustly put future generations in hock. We have lived well at the expense of our progeny, and have set them up for failure.

With respect to capitalism, where once Western institutions led the world in making it easy for businesses to start-up and operate efficiently, now heavy and overly-complex regulations stifle new businesses and send domestic corporations overseas. Western banks and financial institutions, the author argues, are not under-regulated, but poorly regulated. And what's more, they are not made to pay for their transgressions when they do breach the law (as witnessed, most recently, in the financial crash of 2008), thus they are invited to behave irresponsibly.

When it comes to the rule of law, where once the West did well to protect contracts and property rights, now tort law has allowed civil suits to run amok and choke the legal system. Meanwhile, copyright law now deeply favors the established over the up-and-coming, which has stifled innovation and progress. The Rule of Law has become the Rule of Lawyers.

When it comes to civil society, where once most Western citizens freely donated their time and money to worthy causes and charities, and flocked to join associations, clubs and organizations that promoted both civic-feeling and the public good, now citizens largely hide behind their televisions and computer screens and wait for the government to take care of the less fortunate and any and all public goods.

For Ferguson, unless we reverse the current deterioration of our institutions, we can expect our stagnation to continue (and we also run the risk of having our societies crash outright).

A full executive summary of the book will be available at newbooksinbrief dot com, on or before Tuesday, June 25. A podcast discussion of the book will be available shortly thereafter.

17 out of 18 people found this review helpful.

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This is perhaps the most important non-fiction book written this

This is perhaps the most important non-fiction book written this century for those under 50 years of age. Your own economic future is in jeopardy, if you believe that we are living in normal economic times, and that structural change is not necessary in the Western World.
In just 4 key Chapters Niall Ferguson not only summarizes 500 years of economic history, but also gives generation X and Y a way forward to get our Western Economies out of stagnation and into prosperous growth for everyone.
This book is a must read. Take your time, as each page is thoughtfully written and provides real strategies for success, for you as an individual (if you read "between the lines"), and for the entire Western World.
Who needs another Superman or Iron Man / Avengers movie (mind numbing escapism), when we have an economic leader and non-fiction author like Niall Ferguson to inspire us to actually take hold of our current situation and do something !

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Helpful in that it shows how the US is slipping in the rankings

Helpful in that it shows how the US is slipping in the rankings of virtually everything, but otherwise this is just a conservative rambling on about various institutions. Not Niall Ferguson's best work.

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I have to admit that I do not know much about this author, at pr

I have to admit that I do not know much about this author, at present. But a lame one sentence review that is not a review, does nothing to help.

I think one small step for a civilized society would be to ban all anonymous posts. Hey, stop lurking behind the shadows and make yourself heard properly! It might help improve the quality of reviews or at least decrease the level of name calling.

Since I need to give a star rating in order to post and I have to admit to not reading the book as yet, I will give it 4 stars. I would tend to agree with most of the major points raised by the author.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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I might have been interested in this book except that I've seen

I might have been interested in this book except that I've seen Mr. Ferguson on talk shows and think he's a pompous ass hardly any better than the shock jocks of conservative radio.

0 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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