Over a month ago, some around here were discussing
the near famous "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by that
big shyster Jared Diamond (I find it tough to believe
that Bill Gates was impressed,,, but "oh well").
I bought several of Diamond's books. Not impressed!

I find this below was a wonderful and insightful book.
I've bought extra copies to give to friends.
(Currently copies are costing about $5.30 = a bargain)
Hey - from the Amazon page, go ahead and read some
in the free "Look Inside" feature.
Especially the Introduction on page 3 starts giving
GOOD info.

"How The West Grew Rich:
The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World"
by Nathan Rosenberg (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KW02QE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

"How did the West—Europe, Canada, and the United States—escape
from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and
material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an
endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this
elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that
it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West’s
institutions—not corporate organization and mass production
technology—that explain its unparalleled wealth."

This is Gustafsson's review of How the West Grew Rich

4.0 out of 5 stars
Institutions as the fundamental cause, March 21, 2006
By Fredrik Gustafsson (Lund, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
Of The Industrial World (Paperback)

Monographs dealing with West's rise from a backward feudal society to
the most technologically advanced and wealthiest civilization this world
has ever seen, seem to come a dime a dozen nowadays. Given the large
amounts of books available on this topic, and the fact that it was
published twenty years ago, what reasons are there for reading How the
West Grew Rich? Quite a few I would argue.

The main question of the book is of course: how, or rather why, did the
West (as opposed to the South or the East) achieve modern economic
growth? The authors come to the correct conclusion that standard growth
models can only provide the proximate causes of growth. Innovation and
accumulation of capital, labour and natural resources is growth, it does
not explain growth.

So what, according to R&B, are the fundamental causes of growth? The
answer lies in favourable institutions and freedom from political
restrictions - more specifically, secure property rights and the freedom
to engage in any line of business and to acquire and sell goods at an
unregulated price. This meant that the process of innovation was
delegated to private firms and that individuals themselves were forced
to bear full responsibility for their failures and reap the full
benefits of their successes.

Why then did such favourable institutions and political and economic
freedoms arise in the West? The answer according to R&B is political
fragmentation and competition between different territories in Europe.
Investments and the merchant class were drawn to areas were property
rights were respected and where they could carry out their business
without too much political interference. There was no single empire in
Europe. The growth of markets - especially that of cities and
long-distance trade - further spurred this development.

The arguments in How the West Grew Rich are, which should be apparent by
now, very similar to those found in The Rise of the Western World by
North and Thomas, although they focus a lot less on population growth.
As they should, R&B refer to this book on several occasions. Despite
this fact, How the West Grew Rich proves to be an interesting read: the
familiar arguments are explored further and the book includes several
interesting examples of how institutional innovations lowered
transaction costs and facilitated further development.

There are a number of objections one could raise against R&B's account
of the rise of the Western world - their account of the middle ages and
alternative explanations behind West's success are far from
satisfactory, to name a few. There are however a few things speaking in
favour of this book. First of all, it has a clear message. It does not,
like some other books on the same topic, name hundreds of different
reasons for why the West grew rich. Rather, it presents a clear
hypothesis that is present throughout the book and it also provides very
clear policy recommendations to current developing countries wanting to
emulate West's success. Secondly, and perhaps because it has such a
clear message, it is fun to read!

-------------------------------------------
The origins of capitalism revealed!, December 20, 2000
By
Chad M. Brick (Japan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
"How the West Grew Rich" is a thorough treatise on the rise of
capitilism in the nation-states of the west, from feudal society towards
modern times. Rosenthal and Birdzell discuss in the appearances of the
requirements for capitilism, such as acknowledgment of property rights
and consistent and predictable law. Also discussed are the political,
social, or economic changes that caused feudal society to crumble and a
variety of free markets to gradually take root and then blossom in Europe.

This book was thorough and informative, though a bit repetitive and
somewhat dry. It makes a wonderful companion to Diamond's "Guns, Germs,
and Steel", filling in where the later left off.
-----------------------------------

"adaptation takes place through the formation of enterprises that are,
at least initially, small," ie., decentralization=growth., December 26, 2006
By
komyathy (U.S.A. & elsewhere traveling) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
It is entirely safe to generalize: innovation is more likely to occur in
a society that is open to the formation of new enterprises than in a
society that relies on its existing organizations for innovation."
Feudalism thus had to be eclipsed for serious change to occur since it
"was a society which dealt with the risks of life by legislating rigidity.

Economic growth is inherently a byproduct of change,

and the political and religious ideology of the Middle Ages guarded
against the heresies of change in every way it could," argues the
authors herein as they set out to explain "how the West generated the
organizational and technological skills required to produce and exploit"
its wealth. A "decentralization of authority," thus was crucial...and
this was greatly spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the long term
effect of which, economically,

"was the progressive removal of religion from intimate involvement in
the sphere of business activity."

"In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries , the business
sphere was, in a word, secularized." "Protestantism sanctioned a high
degree of individual responsibility for moral conduct and reduced the
authority of the clergy." Under these circumstances, it would have been
too much to expect the Catholic clergy to continue to stress doctrines
which could only turn prosperous parishioners toward Protestantism." The
authors argue moreover that this "was not wholly a question of the
theological content of either Catholicism or Protestantism. It was
partly a question of the competition inherent in the existence of
several rival religions, which, like the existence of competition
inherent in the existence of several rival national states, enabled a
rising merchant class chafing under the restraints of one authority to
take refuge with another more congenial" as trade & exchange, both
domestic and foreign, became ever more prevalent in the prevailing
economy of the day. But how did such a merchant class even gain a
foothold in the first place since feudalism was already petering out
during the 15th century, ie., before the Protestant Reformation and the
later rise of capitalism. As the authors remark: "the decline of
feudalism is complete a century before the beginnings of capitalism."

"For if one thing is clearer than another, it is that the merchant class
did not get its economic power from the feudal nobility, or by
displacing or super-ceding the feudal nobility in agricultural or other
economic activities. The merchant class gained economic power by
expanding the trading activities in which it had always engaged." That's
the key herein, trade and exchange; or rather, the ability of people to
be able to engage in such. So the authors argument herein is not that
democratization shall necessarily lead to an economic boom, but that the
reverse is far more likely; that "economic growth was [and remains, I'd
add] a force for democratization." Marx was thus, the authors assert,
wrong yet again: Capitalism wasn't a natural stage progressing out of
feudalism, and capitalism doesn't inherently lead to monopolistic
centralization of wealth; nor can monopolistic control of the economy
(under the banner of communism or socialism) drive continued economic
growth.

On 7/15/2021 1:40 PM, a425couple wrote:
> Over a month ago, some around here were discussing
> the near famous "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by that
> big shyster Jared Diamond (I find it tough to believe
> that Bill Gates was impressed,,, but "oh well").
> I bought several of Diamond's books.  Not impressed!
>
> I find this below was a wonderful and insightful book.
> I've bought extra copies to give to friends.
> (Currently copies are costing about $5.30 = a bargain)
> Hey - from the Amazon page, go ahead and read some
> in the free "Look Inside" feature.
> Especially the Introduction on page 3 starts giving
> GOOD info.
>
> "How The West Grew Rich:
> The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World"
> by Nathan Rosenberg  (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)
>
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KW02QE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
>
>
> "How did the West—Europe, Canada, and the United States—escape
> from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and
> material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an
> endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this
> elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that
> it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West’s
>  institutions—not corporate organization and mass production
> technology—that explain its unparalleled wealth."
>
> This is Gustafsson's review of How the West Grew Rich
>
Here is another great review of the book:

Roger
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Explanation Yet

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
I have read every book and article I can find on what I will call the
Modern Breakthrough -- from a destitute, illiterate, unhealthy
Malthusian world of pretty much every place for all time, to the modern
world of relative prosperity, health, freedom and knowledge. This book
is probably the single best summary of the factors which were necessary
to the breakthrough, or series of breakthroughs (they actually mention
at least five -- the expansion of trading and markets, the first and
second industrial revolution, the modern information/technology
revolution, and science).

I will allow, no encourage, everyone to read the book themselves for the
details, but the basic concept is that what was different in Western
Europe from other times and places was decentralized authority and
decision making. Problem solving necessary for the advancement of the
human condition is a cooperative affair, but cooperation can emerge both
top down (via hierarchy and control) and bottoms up in a decentralized,
diverse way. The West blossomed by allowing more of the latter to emerge
than in other societies controlled by custom, bureaucracy, despotism,
the status quo, and guilds.

The West, concentrated first in Britain and later much broader, first
and foremost did less to stop innovation. Just as dramatically, it
created (greatly without conscious intent) institutions which actually
required or demanded innovation, experimentation, incremental
improvement, efficiency and organizational adaptiveness. The book is
about the details illustrating this unique situation. How it evolved.
Why it evolved. Why it was so different.

------------------- and another

zel22
5.0 out of 5 stars What Every Politician Needs to Know!
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019
Verified Purchase

This book provides the best description of the origins of capitalism
and why it is so superior to all other systems that there is no
thinking person that would want socialism. It is written in
"prof-speak" meaning that at times the language is overly long
and complex, but if you can get through the doctoral thesis stuff,
you will learn an enormous amount of history and economics that is
rarely taught, much less applied, in our current environment of
politically motivated ignorance.

Tariffs?

On 7/15/2021 2:19 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
>
>
> Tariffs?
>

Best progress was made when the political sphere
mostly stuck to the political side of things,
(good honest deals, fair courts,)
and let the economic sphere run, let industry and
commerce serve the general welfare.

Or, read for yourself,
Go to Google books, and plonk in -

it was comparatively out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,

hit enter, and it should take you to page viii,
to read
"But while it was de rigueur for the political authorities to
facilitate manufacturing and trade during the main period of
Western growth, in the nineteenth century it was comparatively
out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,
control prices ...

Go up to top of the shown page. Read.

But, then, It does not show the next page!!!

Well,,,, the book goes on to say,
"These advances were accomplished with the help of taxes
that seem, in retrospect, unbelievably low."

On Thu, 15 Jul 2021 13:40:13 -0700, a425couple wrote:

> "How The West Grew Rich:
> The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World"
> by Nathan Rosenberg (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)

Thanks, I will have a read

On Thu, 15 Jul 2021 16:07:57 -0700, a425couple
<a425couple@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On 7/15/2021 2:19 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
>>
>>
>> Tariffs?
>>
>
>Best progress was made when the political sphere
>mostly stuck to the political side of things,
>(good honest deals, fair courts,)
>and let the economic sphere run, let industry and
>commerce serve the general welfare.
>
>Or, read for yourself,
>Go to Google books, and plonk in -
>
>it was comparatively out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,
>
>hit enter, and it should take you to page viii,
>to read
>"But while it was de rigueur for the political authorities to
>facilitate manufacturing and trade during the main period of
>Western growth, in the nineteenth century it was comparatively
>out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,
>control prices ...
>
>Go up to top of the shown page. Read.
>
>But, then, It does not show the next page!!!
>
>Well,,,, the book goes on to say,
>"These advances were accomplished with the help of taxes
>that seem, in retrospect, unbelievably low."

Well, I remember the USA's Golden Age rode on the back of tariffs. And
didn't get involved in the Crimean war and similar foolishness!

On 7/16/2021 3:53 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2021 16:07:57 -0700, a425couple
> <a425couple@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 7/15/2021 2:19 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Tariffs?
>>>
>>
>> Best progress was made when the political sphere
>> mostly stuck to the political side of things,
>> (good honest deals, fair courts,)
>> and let the economic sphere run, let industry and
>> commerce serve the general welfare.
>>
>> Or, read for yourself,
>> Go to Google books, and plonk in -
>>
>> it was comparatively out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,
>>
>> hit enter, and it should take you to page viii,
>> to read
>> "But while it was de rigueur for the political authorities to
>> facilitate manufacturing and trade during the main period of
>> Western growth, in the nineteenth century it was comparatively
>> out of fashion to regulate trade, tax it appreciably,
>> control prices ...
>>
>> Go up to top of the shown page. Read.
>>
>> But, then, It does not show the next page!!!
>>
>> Well,,,, the book goes on to say,
>> "These advances were accomplished with the help of taxes
>> that seem, in retrospect, unbelievably low."
>
>
> Well, I remember the USA's Golden Age rode on the back of tariffs. And
> didn't get involved in the Crimean war and similar foolishness!
>

?

Most sources consider the 1950s to have been the
USA's Golden age. (Do you? Or do you mean another time?)

"Has the United States had a golden age?
It was the Golden Age of the U.S. economy, the quarter century
between 1948 and 1973, when the U.S. reigned supreme, manufacturing
flourished and the American middle class prospered. Sep 1, 2017"

Amazon.com: 1950 to 1959 the USA's Golden Age Begins ...
https://www.amazon.com › 1950-1959-USAs-Golden-B...
Amazon.com: 1950 to 1959 the USA's Golden Age Begins: History,
Book 14 (Audible Audio Edition): Rich Linville, Scotty O'Jay,
Richard Vaughn Linville: ...

1950 to 1959 the USA's Golden Age Begins by ... - Audible.com
https://www.audible.com › 1950-to-1959-the-USAs-Go...
May 19, 2021 — Discover 1950 to 1959 the USA's Golden Age Begins as
it's meant to be heard, narrated by Scotty O'Jay. Free trial available!

Was the Fifties a Golden Age? | History 118: US History Since ...
https://blogs.dickinson.edu › 2015/03/25 › was-the-fifti...
Mar 25, 2015 — The 1950s certainly marked an era of industrial
supremacy, big cities, interstate highways, and general stability for
American capitalism, but ...

And tariffs were not that important then.
The income tax was.

Taxes on the Rich Were Not Much Higher in the 1950s | Tax ...
https://taxfoundation.org › taxes-on-the-rich-1950s-not...
Aug 4, 2017 — Proponents of this view often point to the 1950s,
when the top ... Average Effective Tax Rate on the Top 1 Percent
of U.S. Households.

What are the sources of revenue for the federal government ...
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org › briefing-book › what...
The individual income tax has been the largest single source of
federal revenue since 1950, amounting to about 50 percent of the
total and 8.1 percent of ...

Taxes Weren't More Progressive in the 1950s | The Report ...
https://www.usnews.com › opinion › articles › taxes-we...
Oct 31, 2017 — Second, top marginal rates tell us very little
about where the locus of the actual tax burden sits across
all income earners. [. READ: House ...

U.S. Federal Government Revenues: 1790 to the Present ...
https://www.everycrsreport.com › reports
Sep 25, 2006 — The major source of revenue was customs duties —
accounting for ... federal revenues varied as a percentage of GDP from
14% (in 1950) to 21% ...

includes:
"Three distinct periods or eras can be identified:
the customs duties era (before 1863),
the rising excise tax era (1863-1913),
and the income tax era (1914-present).
These periods are identified by the major source of federal revenue.
Table 1 shows the average percentage of federal revenue coming
from each of the five revenue
sources in the three periods. This report describes the sources
of federal revenues,
and examines the changing composition of revenues."

On Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 1:40:57 PM UTC-7, a425couple wrote:
> Over a month ago, some around here were discussing
> the near famous "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by that
> big shyster Jared Diamond (I find it tough to believe
> that Bill Gates was impressed,,, but "oh well").
> I bought several of Diamond's books. Not impressed!
>
> I find this below was a wonderful and insightful book.
> I've bought extra copies to give to friends.
> (Currently copies are costing about $5.30 = a bargain)
> Hey - from the Amazon page, go ahead and read some
> in the free "Look Inside" feature.
> Especially the Introduction on page 3 starts giving
> GOOD info.
>
> "How The West Grew Rich:
> The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World"
> by Nathan Rosenberg (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)
>
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KW02QE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
>
> "How did the West—Europe, Canada, and the United States—escape
> from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and
> material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an
> endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this
> elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that
> it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West’s
> institutions—not corporate organization and mass production
> technology—that explain its unparalleled wealth."
>
> This is Gustafsson's review of How the West Grew Rich
>
> 4.0 out of 5 stars
> Institutions as the fundamental cause, March 21, 2006
> By Fredrik Gustafsson (Lund, Sweden) - See all my reviews
>
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
>
> Monographs dealing with West's rise from a backward feudal society to
> the most technologically advanced and wealthiest civilization this world
> has ever seen, seem to come a dime a dozen nowadays. Given the large
> amounts of books available on this topic, and the fact that it was
> published twenty years ago, what reasons are there for reading How the
> West Grew Rich? Quite a few I would argue.
>
> The main question of the book is of course: how, or rather why, did the
> West (as opposed to the South or the East) achieve modern economic
> growth? The authors come to the correct conclusion that standard growth
> models can only provide the proximate causes of growth. Innovation and
> accumulation of capital, labour and natural resources is growth, it does
> not explain growth.
>
> So what, according to R&B, are the fundamental causes of growth? The
> answer lies in favourable institutions and freedom from political
> restrictions - more specifically, secure property rights and the freedom
> to engage in any line of business and to acquire and sell goods at an
> unregulated price. This meant that the process of innovation was
> delegated to private firms and that individuals themselves were forced
> to bear full responsibility for their failures and reap the full
> benefits of their successes.
>
> Why then did such favourable institutions and political and economic
> freedoms arise in the West? The answer according to R&B is political
> fragmentation and competition between different territories in Europe.
> Investments and the merchant class were drawn to areas were property
> rights were respected and where they could carry out their business
> without too much political interference. There was no single empire in
> Europe. The growth of markets - especially that of cities and
> long-distance trade - further spurred this development.
>
> The arguments in How the West Grew Rich are, which should be apparent by
> now, very similar to those found in The Rise of the Western World by
> North and Thomas, although they focus a lot less on population growth.
> As they should, R&B refer to this book on several occasions. Despite
> this fact, How the West Grew Rich proves to be an interesting read: the
> familiar arguments are explored further and the book includes several
> interesting examples of how institutional innovations lowered
> transaction costs and facilitated further development.
>
> There are a number of objections one could raise against R&B's account
> of the rise of the Western world - their account of the middle ages and
> alternative explanations behind West's success are far from
> satisfactory, to name a few. There are however a few things speaking in
> favour of this book. First of all, it has a clear message. It does not,
> like some other books on the same topic, name hundreds of different
> reasons for why the West grew rich. Rather, it presents a clear
> hypothesis that is present throughout the book and it also provides very
> clear policy recommendations to current developing countries wanting to
> emulate West's success. Secondly, and perhaps because it has such a
> clear message, it is fun to read!
>
> -------------------------------------------
> The origins of capitalism revealed!, December 20, 2000
> By
> Chad M. Brick (Japan) - See all my reviews
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
> "How the West Grew Rich" is a thorough treatise on the rise of
> capitilism in the nation-states of the west, from feudal society towards
> modern times. Rosenthal and Birdzell discuss in the appearances of the
> requirements for capitilism, such as acknowledgment of property rights
> and consistent and predictable law. Also discussed are the political,
> social, or economic changes that caused feudal society to crumble and a
> variety of free markets to gradually take root and then blossom in Europe..
>
> This book was thorough and informative, though a bit repetitive and
> somewhat dry. It makes a wonderful companion to Diamond's "Guns, Germs,
> and Steel", filling in where the later left off.
> -----------------------------------
>
> "adaptation takes place through the formation of enterprises that are,
> at least initially, small," ie., decentralization=growth., December 26, 2006
> By
> komyathy (U.S.A. & elsewhere traveling) - See all my reviews
>
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
> It is entirely safe to generalize: innovation is more likely to occur in
> a society that is open to the formation of new enterprises than in a
> society that relies on its existing organizations for innovation."
> Feudalism thus had to be eclipsed for serious change to occur since it
> "was a society which dealt with the risks of life by legislating rigidity..
>
> Economic growth is inherently a byproduct of change,
>
> and the political and religious ideology of the Middle Ages guarded
> against the heresies of change in every way it could," argues the
> authors herein as they set out to explain "how the West generated the
> organizational and technological skills required to produce and exploit"
> its wealth. A "decentralization of authority," thus was crucial...and
> this was greatly spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the long term
> effect of which, economically,
>
> "was the progressive removal of religion from intimate involvement in
> the sphere of business activity."
>
> "In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries , the business
> sphere was, in a word, secularized." "Protestantism sanctioned a high
> degree of individual responsibility for moral conduct and reduced the
> authority of the clergy." Under these circumstances, it would have been
> too much to expect the Catholic clergy to continue to stress doctrines
> which could only turn prosperous parishioners toward Protestantism." The
> authors argue moreover that this "was not wholly a question of the
> theological content of either Catholicism or Protestantism. It was
> partly a question of the competition inherent in the existence of
> several rival religions, which, like the existence of competition
> inherent in the existence of several rival national states, enabled a
> rising merchant class chafing under the restraints of one authority to
> take refuge with another more congenial" as trade & exchange, both
> domestic and foreign, became ever more prevalent in the prevailing
> economy of the day. But how did such a merchant class even gain a
> foothold in the first place since feudalism was already petering out
> during the 15th century, ie., before the Protestant Reformation and the
> later rise of capitalism. As the authors remark: "the decline of
> feudalism is complete a century before the beginnings of capitalism."
>
> "For if one thing is clearer than another, it is that the merchant class
> did not get its economic power from the feudal nobility, or by
> displacing or super-ceding the feudal nobility in agricultural or other
> economic activities. The merchant class gained economic power by
> expanding the trading activities in which it had always engaged." That's
> the key herein, trade and exchange; or rather, the ability of people to
> be able to engage in such. So the authors argument herein is not that
> democratization shall necessarily lead to an economic boom, but that the
> reverse is far more likely; that "economic growth was [and remains, I'd
> add] a force for democratization." Marx was thus, the authors assert,
> wrong yet again: Capitalism wasn't a natural stage progressing out of
> feudalism, and capitalism doesn't inherently lead to monopolistic
> centralization of wealth; nor can monopolistic control of the economy
> (under the banner of communism or socialism) drive continued economic
> growth.
>
> After all, "one must keep in mind that growth implies change and
> adaptation, and that much of the adaptation takes place through the
> formation of enterprises that are, at least initially, small." Hence the
> authors' view that "the strength of the tendency to decentralization in
> Western economies is chronically underestimated."
>
> You may bemoan the influence of such mega companies as Microsoft, Exxon,
> & Walmart now and worry how much influence they may have in 20 years,
> but such is but a parlor game of sorts. (Look at the once great US
> Steel, or General Motors, or IBM, or any one of a dozen railroad
> companies, and you can see the futility of simple extrapolation.) Such
> high fliers now are not hurting the American economy. Such companies are
> stimulating it. That's the point, after all, is it not? Not to penalize
> success, but to focus on "the value of advancing the material welfare of
> human beings as measured by the means available to THE GREAT MAJORITY of
> individuals to choose and shape the quality of the lives they
> lead"(emphasis added). And as long as the Microsofts and Walmarts of our
> economy continue to add to the growth of such they shall be secure as
> entities, but there shall come a time when innovations (think Linux,
> Google, Apple multimedia platforms to come, home grocery delivery and
> internet shopping---you name it) will seek to dethrone them. To wit, the
> authors point out that a "seldom praised function of competition in
> economic growth is that it eliminates obsolete forms of economic
> activity." (Contrast this to "the difficulty experienced by the
> political sphere in getting rid of programs that are obsolete or that
> have simply failed.")
>
> Hence "the real point...essential to understanding why the benefits of
> Western growth were so widely diffused is that the West's system of
> economic growth offered its largest financial rewards to innovators who
> improved the life-style not of the wealthy few, but of the less-wealthy
> many.
>
> This is a point that bodes ill for 3rd world ever-developing
> disappointments (ie., Russia, Venezuela, slews of countries in
> Africa/The Middle East) who are hopelessly (or so it seems) overly
> centralized and concerned only with enhancing the riches of the elites
> in such societies. Corrupt self-interested cliques are simply
> instinctively hostile to bottom-up anything. Regarding most African and
> Middle Eastern states, some would say that the Western economic path
> "involves a diffusion of power and a degree of individualism which is
> incompatible with many modes of social life" in such parts of the world,
> but the authors herein suggest that such could have been once said about
> European peoples, too...until power diffused within such societies to an
> extent made possible by trade-generated economic growth. Nothing is
> guaranteed, of course, but as long as power remains centralized in
> backwater states the chance of real sustainable economic growth and
> seriously better lives for the average citizens of such societies will
> remain but a hopeful wish. (Interestingly, many European economies have
> begun to grow rather sluggishly since the European Union has been
> increasingly taking power back from individual states and localities
> with them.) Thanks for reading my words of review of this worthy book.
> Cheers
>
> ------------------

On Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 1:40:57 PM UTC-7, a425couple wrote:
> Over a month ago, some around here were discussing
> the near famous "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by that
> big shyster Jared Diamond (I find it tough to believe
> that Bill Gates was impressed,,, but "oh well").
> I bought several of Diamond's books. Not impressed!
>
> I find this below was a wonderful and insightful book.
> I've bought extra copies to give to friends.
> (Currently copies are costing about $5.30 = a bargain)
> Hey - from the Amazon page, go ahead and read some
> in the free "Look Inside" feature.
> Especially the Introduction on page 3 starts giving
> GOOD info.
>
> "How The West Grew Rich:
> The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World"
> by Nathan Rosenberg (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)
>
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KW02QE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
>
> "How did the West—Europe, Canada, and the United States—escape
> from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and
> material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an
> endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this
> elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that
> it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West’s
> institutions—not corporate organization and mass production
> technology—that explain its unparalleled wealth."
>
> This is Gustafsson's review of How the West Grew Rich
>
> 4.0 out of 5 stars
> Institutions as the fundamental cause, March 21, 2006
> By Fredrik Gustafsson (Lund, Sweden) - See all my reviews
>
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
>
> Monographs dealing with West's rise from a backward feudal society to
> the most technologically advanced and wealthiest civilization this world
> has ever seen, seem to come a dime a dozen nowadays. Given the large
> amounts of books available on this topic, and the fact that it was
> published twenty years ago, what reasons are there for reading How the
> West Grew Rich? Quite a few I would argue.
>
> The main question of the book is of course: how, or rather why, did the
> West (as opposed to the South or the East) achieve modern economic
> growth? The authors come to the correct conclusion that standard growth
> models can only provide the proximate causes of growth. Innovation and
> accumulation of capital, labour and natural resources is growth, it does
> not explain growth.
>
> So what, according to R&B, are the fundamental causes of growth? The
> answer lies in favourable institutions and freedom from political
> restrictions - more specifically, secure property rights and the freedom
> to engage in any line of business and to acquire and sell goods at an
> unregulated price. This meant that the process of innovation was
> delegated to private firms and that individuals themselves were forced
> to bear full responsibility for their failures and reap the full
> benefits of their successes.
>
> Why then did such favourable institutions and political and economic
> freedoms arise in the West? The answer according to R&B is political
> fragmentation and competition between different territories in Europe.
> Investments and the merchant class were drawn to areas were property
> rights were respected and where they could carry out their business
> without too much political interference. There was no single empire in
> Europe. The growth of markets - especially that of cities and
> long-distance trade - further spurred this development.
>
> The arguments in How the West Grew Rich are, which should be apparent by
> now, very similar to those found in The Rise of the Western World by
> North and Thomas, although they focus a lot less on population growth.
> As they should, R&B refer to this book on several occasions. Despite
> this fact, How the West Grew Rich proves to be an interesting read: the
> familiar arguments are explored further and the book includes several
> interesting examples of how institutional innovations lowered
> transaction costs and facilitated further development.
>
> There are a number of objections one could raise against R&B's account
> of the rise of the Western world - their account of the middle ages and
> alternative explanations behind West's success are far from
> satisfactory, to name a few. There are however a few things speaking in
> favour of this book. First of all, it has a clear message. It does not,
> like some other books on the same topic, name hundreds of different
> reasons for why the West grew rich. Rather, it presents a clear
> hypothesis that is present throughout the book and it also provides very
> clear policy recommendations to current developing countries wanting to
> emulate West's success. Secondly, and perhaps because it has such a
> clear message, it is fun to read!
>
> -------------------------------------------
> The origins of capitalism revealed!, December 20, 2000
> By
> Chad M. Brick (Japan) - See all my reviews
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
> "How the West Grew Rich" is a thorough treatise on the rise of
> capitilism in the nation-states of the west, from feudal society towards
> modern times. Rosenthal and Birdzell discuss in the appearances of the
> requirements for capitilism, such as acknowledgment of property rights
> and consistent and predictable law. Also discussed are the political,
> social, or economic changes that caused feudal society to crumble and a
> variety of free markets to gradually take root and then blossom in Europe..
>
> This book was thorough and informative, though a bit repetitive and
> somewhat dry. It makes a wonderful companion to Diamond's "Guns, Germs,
> and Steel", filling in where the later left off.
> -----------------------------------
>
> "adaptation takes place through the formation of enterprises that are,
> at least initially, small," ie., decentralization=growth., December 26, 2006
> By
> komyathy (U.S.A. & elsewhere traveling) - See all my reviews
>
> This review is from: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation
> Of The Industrial World (Paperback)
> It is entirely safe to generalize: innovation is more likely to occur in
> a society that is open to the formation of new enterprises than in a
> society that relies on its existing organizations for innovation."
> Feudalism thus had to be eclipsed for serious change to occur since it
> "was a society which dealt with the risks of life by legislating rigidity..
>
> Economic growth is inherently a byproduct of change,
>
> and the political and religious ideology of the Middle Ages guarded
> against the heresies of change in every way it could," argues the
> authors herein as they set out to explain "how the West generated the
> organizational and technological skills required to produce and exploit"
> its wealth. A "decentralization of authority," thus was crucial...and
> this was greatly spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the long term
> effect of which, economically,
>
> "was the progressive removal of religion from intimate involvement in
> the sphere of business activity."
>
> "In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries , the business
> sphere was, in a word, secularized." "Protestantism sanctioned a high
> degree of individual responsibility for moral conduct and reduced the
> authority of the clergy." Under these circumstances, it would have been
> too much to expect the Catholic clergy to continue to stress doctrines
> which could only turn prosperous parishioners toward Protestantism." The
> authors argue moreover that this "was not wholly a question of the
> theological content of either Catholicism or Protestantism. It was
> partly a question of the competition inherent in the existence of
> several rival religions, which, like the existence of competition
> inherent in the existence of several rival national states, enabled a
> rising merchant class chafing under the restraints of one authority to
> take refuge with another more congenial" as trade & exchange, both
> domestic and foreign, became ever more prevalent in the prevailing
> economy of the day. But how did such a merchant class even gain a
> foothold in the first place since feudalism was already petering out
> during the 15th century, ie., before the Protestant Reformation and the
> later rise of capitalism. As the authors remark: "the decline of
> feudalism is complete a century before the beginnings of capitalism."
>
> "For if one thing is clearer than another, it is that the merchant class
> did not get its economic power from the feudal nobility, or by
> displacing or super-ceding the feudal nobility in agricultural or other
> economic activities. The merchant class gained economic power by
> expanding the trading activities in which it had always engaged." That's
> the key herein, trade and exchange; or rather, the ability of people to
> be able to engage in such. So the authors argument herein is not that
> democratization shall necessarily lead to an economic boom, but that the
> reverse is far more likely; that "economic growth was [and remains, I'd
> add] a force for democratization." Marx was thus, the authors assert,
> wrong yet again: Capitalism wasn't a natural stage progressing out of
> feudalism, and capitalism doesn't inherently lead to monopolistic
> centralization of wealth; nor can monopolistic control of the economy
> (under the banner of communism or socialism) drive continued economic
> growth.
>
> After all, "one must keep in mind that growth implies change and
> adaptation, and that much of the adaptation takes place through the
> formation of enterprises that are, at least initially, small." Hence the
> authors' view that "the strength of the tendency to decentralization in
> Western economies is chronically underestimated."
>
> You may bemoan the influence of such mega companies as Microsoft, Exxon,
> & Walmart now and worry how much influence they may have in 20 years,
> but such is but a parlor game of sorts. (Look at the once great US
> Steel, or General Motors, or IBM, or any one of a dozen railroad
> companies, and you can see the futility of simple extrapolation.) Such
> high fliers now are not hurting the American economy. Such companies are
> stimulating it. That's the point, after all, is it not? Not to penalize
> success, but to focus on "the value of advancing the material welfare of
> human beings as measured by the means available to THE GREAT MAJORITY of
> individuals to choose and shape the quality of the lives they
> lead"(emphasis added). And as long as the Microsofts and Walmarts of our
> economy continue to add to the growth of such they shall be secure as
> entities, but there shall come a time when innovations (think Linux,
> Google, Apple multimedia platforms to come, home grocery delivery and
> internet shopping---you name it) will seek to dethrone them. To wit, the
> authors point out that a "seldom praised function of competition in
> economic growth is that it eliminates obsolete forms of economic
> activity." (Contrast this to "the difficulty experienced by the
> political sphere in getting rid of programs that are obsolete or that
> have simply failed.")
>
> Hence "the real point...essential to understanding why the benefits of
> Western growth were so widely diffused is that the West's system of
> economic growth offered its largest financial rewards to innovators who
> improved the life-style not of the wealthy few, but of the less-wealthy
> many.
>
> This is a point that bodes ill for 3rd world ever-developing
> disappointments (ie., Russia, Venezuela, slews of countries in
> Africa/The Middle East) who are hopelessly (or so it seems) overly
> centralized and concerned only with enhancing the riches of the elites
> in such societies. Corrupt self-interested cliques are simply
> instinctively hostile to bottom-up anything. Regarding most African and
> Middle Eastern states, some would say that the Western economic path
> "involves a diffusion of power and a degree of individualism which is
> incompatible with many modes of social life" in such parts of the world,
> but the authors herein suggest that such could have been once said about
> European peoples, too...until power diffused within such societies to an
> extent made possible by trade-generated economic growth. Nothing is
> guaranteed, of course, but as long as power remains centralized in
> backwater states the chance of real sustainable economic growth and
> seriously better lives for the average citizens of such societies will
> remain but a hopeful wish. (Interestingly, many European economies have
> begun to grow rather sluggishly since the European Union has been
> increasingly taking power back from individual states and localities
> with them.) Thanks for reading my words of review of this worthy book.
> Cheers
>
> ------------------