steve on Nostr: “The Pursuit of Power” by William H. McNeill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ How have ...
“The Pursuit of Power” by William H. McNeill
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How have geography, demographics, economics, and technology converged to alter the character of warfare over the past 1,000 years? It’s a tough question, I know, but McNeill spent 20 years of research putting together this work to answer it. He explains how China’s preference for command-driven markets originated in the large public works projects they employed to tame the Yellow River. Contrast this to Europe’s laissez-faire development that resulted in more free market economics and you get compelling case studies for the effect that economic preference has on technology development. Sadly, McNeill’s global perspective stops early on and the remainder of the book focuses on the intricacies of the West’s technological march towards modern war. Despite the overly verbose explanation, McNeill’s work is impressive in its depth and draws the best geopolitical connections I’ve seen since reading Zeihan. Definitely worth the read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How have geography, demographics, economics, and technology converged to alter the character of warfare over the past 1,000 years? It’s a tough question, I know, but McNeill spent 20 years of research putting together this work to answer it. He explains how China’s preference for command-driven markets originated in the large public works projects they employed to tame the Yellow River. Contrast this to Europe’s laissez-faire development that resulted in more free market economics and you get compelling case studies for the effect that economic preference has on technology development. Sadly, McNeill’s global perspective stops early on and the remainder of the book focuses on the intricacies of the West’s technological march towards modern war. Despite the overly verbose explanation, McNeill’s work is impressive in its depth and draws the best geopolitical connections I’ve seen since reading Zeihan. Definitely worth the read.