The triumph of the West
by John Morris Roberts · first published 1985
100% recommend
An account of the history of western civilization from its earliest roots. The author uncovers what it was that gave European culture its confident energy for so many centuries while exposing its flaws and its impact on the rest of the world.
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I'm not a big fan of GG&S, as his thesis is the West was just lucky. The "Triumph of the West" by Roberts has a more compelling thesis - that Western culture is more favorable towards new ideas and new ways of doing things. We see this as country after country discards the old ways and adopts…
on “The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism” ↗"The Triumph of the West" by Roberts goes into considerable detail explaining it.
on “Why the Industrial Revolution Didn’t Happen in China” ↗One explanation is the book "Triumph of the West" by Roberts. He makes the case for it being the culture.
on “How did Europe become the richest part of the world?” ↗An alternative view is "Triumph of the West" by Roberts. https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-West-J-M-Roberts/dp/031674989...
on “The Modern Mind May Be 100k Years Old (2016)” ↗> guns germs and steel Sorry, but ick. A less popular viewpoint of this is "Triumph of the West" by Roberts. "Connections" by Burke is very good, too.
on “Intellectual Loneliness” ↗…the emergence of free markets in the Netherlands, and the results. As for China, China invented a number of things, but failed to apply them like the West did. For one take on why, see the book "The Triumph of the West" by Roberts https://www.amazon.com/triumph-West-J-M-Roberts/dp/076070850... In modern times, China adopted free markets with spectacular results.
on “Institutions try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution” ↗For the opposing viewpoint, see "Triumph of the West" by J.M. Roberts.
on “In shards of glass, a new sign of how the Easter Islanders met their demise” ↗Here's a good book on it, "Triumph of the West" by Roberts.
on “Could Rome Have Had an Industrial Revolution?” ↗…restatement. Europe has a highly indented coastline with multiple large peninsulas, all of which developed independent languages, ethnic groups, and governments, plus two large islands. Roberts' "The Triumph of the West" https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Triumph-West-Press/dp/1842124... has a quite different take on this. He says the difference comes from a different cultural perspective. It's been a long time since I…
on “Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics” ↗An alternative explanation is "Triumph of the West" by Roberts which gives cultural reasons.
on “Network of fortified towns indicates Amazon was once heavily populated” ↗"The Triumph of the West" by Roberts has a different take, putting it down to differences in culture and attitudes. For example, the West had the idea that the universe could be modeled, and discoveries from testing the model…
on “The Best Books on the Great Divergence” ↗"Triumph of the West" by Roberts describes it as the western view is that the rules that govern the world are discoverable and applicable, i.e. one can conduct experiments with models and apply results elsewhere. The eastern…
on “Why the Industrial Revolution Didn’t Happen in China” ↗"The Triumph of the West" by Roberts has a similar thesis. https://www.amazon.com/triumph-West-J-M-Roberts/dp/076070850... It's been a long time since I read it, but as I recall the theses were that individual rights and freedoms…
on “Scientists put Jared Diamond's continental axis hypothesis to the test” ↗