Summary of Robert Kagan's The Jungle Grows Back

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 The idea of human progress is a myth. While there have been periods of improvement in the way humans treat each other, history is a jagged line with no discernible slope.

#2 There has been steady progress toward liberalism over the last two centuries, but this progress has been met with the rise of the modern police state in response.

#3 The past few decades have seen a dramatic decrease in violence around the world, and many have become convinced that human beings have changed fundamentally since the 1930s.

#4 The liberal order is not natural, and it has not been the result of any changes in human nature. It is the by-product of a unique set of circumstances contingent on a particular set of historical outcomes, including the battlefield, which could have turned out differently.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669359159

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Robert Kagan's The Jungle Grows Back

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The idea of human progress is a myth. While there have been periods of improvement in the way humans treat each other, history is a jagged line with no discernible slope.

#2

There has been steady progress toward liberalism over the last two centuries, but this progress has been met with the rise of the modern police state in response.

#3

The past few decades have seen a dramatic decrease in violence around the world, and many have become convinced that human beings have changed fundamentally since the 1930s.

#4

The liberal order is not natural, and it has not been the result of any changes in human nature. It is the by-product of a unique set of circumstances contingent on a particular set of historical outcomes, including the battlefield, which could have turned out differently.

#5

The return of authoritarianism is evident all around us. The liberal order, which was once thought to be inevitable, is now facing multiple crises from within and without.

#6

A growing number of Americans believe that the liberal order is not only unsustainable, but also undesirable. They believe that the struggle to uphold it is either hopeless or misguided.

#7

It is wrong to call those who ask these questions isolationists. Most