Empires on the Edge of Chaos
About this book
In the 26th John Bonython lecture, Niall Ferguson, one of the world's leading geo-economic thinkers and historians, discussed the complexity behind great national powers and whether the rise and fall of empires is cyclical or arrhythmic.This lecture offered an alternative analysis to commonly accepted history. With the rise of China as a viable superpower, a Keynesian president at the helm of the United States, India now the worlds largest democracy, and rampant global economic instability, the address offered a timely review of primacy, leadership, and the complex systems that make up civilizations. In his exclusive talk for the Centre Of Independent Studies, Ferguson examined whether the rise and fall of empires is cyclical or arrhythmic in nature, and to what extent arrogant, or naive - economic profligacy contributes to their downfall.