Audiobook29 hours
Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World
Written by Deirdre N. McCloskey
Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
There's little doubt that most humans today are better off than their forebears. Stunningly so, the economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey argues in the concluding volume of her trilogy celebrating the oft-derided virtues of the bourgeoisie. The poorest of humanity, McCloskey shows, will soon be joining the comparative riches of Japan and Sweden and Botswana.
Why? Most economists-from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to Thomas Piketty-say the Great Enrichment since 1800 came from accumulated capital. McCloskey disagrees, fiercely. “Our riches,” she argues, “were made not by piling brick on brick, bank balance on bank balance, but by piling idea on idea.” Capital was necessary, but so was the presence of oxygen. It was ideas, not matter, that drove “trade-tested betterment.” Nor were institutions the drivers. The World Bank orthodoxy of “add institutions and stir” doesn't work, and didn't. McCloskey builds a powerful case for the initiating role of ideas-ideas for electric motors and free elections, of course, but more deeply the bizarre and liberal ideas of equal liberty and dignity for ordinary folk. Liberalism arose from theological and political revolutions in northwest Europe, yielding a unique respect for betterment and its practitioners, and upending ancient hierarchies. Commoners were encouraged to have a go, and the bourgeoisie took up the Bourgeois Deal, and we were all enriched.
Few economists or historians write like McCloskey-her ability to invest the facts of economic history with the urgency of a novel, or of a leading case at law, is unmatched. She summarizes modern economics and modern economic history with verve and lucidity, yet sees through to the really big scientific conclusion. Not matter, but ideas. Big books don't come any more ambitious, or captivating, than Bourgeois Equality.
Why? Most economists-from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to Thomas Piketty-say the Great Enrichment since 1800 came from accumulated capital. McCloskey disagrees, fiercely. “Our riches,” she argues, “were made not by piling brick on brick, bank balance on bank balance, but by piling idea on idea.” Capital was necessary, but so was the presence of oxygen. It was ideas, not matter, that drove “trade-tested betterment.” Nor were institutions the drivers. The World Bank orthodoxy of “add institutions and stir” doesn't work, and didn't. McCloskey builds a powerful case for the initiating role of ideas-ideas for electric motors and free elections, of course, but more deeply the bizarre and liberal ideas of equal liberty and dignity for ordinary folk. Liberalism arose from theological and political revolutions in northwest Europe, yielding a unique respect for betterment and its practitioners, and upending ancient hierarchies. Commoners were encouraged to have a go, and the bourgeoisie took up the Bourgeois Deal, and we were all enriched.
Few economists or historians write like McCloskey-her ability to invest the facts of economic history with the urgency of a novel, or of a leading case at law, is unmatched. She summarizes modern economics and modern economic history with verve and lucidity, yet sees through to the really big scientific conclusion. Not matter, but ideas. Big books don't come any more ambitious, or captivating, than Bourgeois Equality.
More audiobooks from Deirdre N. Mc Closkey
Leave Me Alone and I'll Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Bourgeois Equality
Related audiobooks
A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Age of Capital: 1848-1875 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present 3rd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A People's History of the World: From the Stone Age to the New Millennium Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whose Middle Ages?: Teachable Moments for an Ill-Used Past Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Pursuit of Glory: The Five Revolutions that Made Modern Europe: 1648-1815 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New Rome: The Empire in the East Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDragons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enlightenment: Reason, Tolerance, and Humanity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval Horizons: Why The Middle Ages Matter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedieval European Empires: Early Nations of Fifth Century Europe to the Renaissance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCapital: Volume 1: A Critique of Political Economy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGermany in the World: A Global History, 1500-2000 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and Confusion de Confusiones Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The English and Their History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmpires of the Weak: The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora 1750-2010 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoney: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy – and What We Can Do About It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Civilization Volume IV: The History of the United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Economics For You
Economics 101: How the World Works Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How the World Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of the United States in Five Crashes: Stock Market Meltdowns That Defined a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why the Rich Are Getting Richer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Intelligent Investor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freakonomics Rev Ed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chip War: The Quest to Dominate the World's Most Critical Technology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nudge: The Final Edition: Improving Decisions About Money, Health, And The Environment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed or Fail Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marvel Comics: The Untold Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Bourgeois Equality
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
5 ratings0 reviews