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Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson Books

Historian

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“Завжди існуватимуть жадібні люди. Зрештою вони завжди там, де є (чи мали би бути) гроші. Але жадібні люди шахраюватимуть чи дозволятимуть собі недбало ставитися, лише якщо відчуватимуть, що навряд чи їхній злочин помітять, чи суворо покарають за нього.”

EconomyDeclineCivil SocietyDegenerationCourts
Book:The Great Degeneration
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“-- kulttuurien kamppailu Huntingtonin merkityksessä tuntuu edelleen kaukaiselta mahdollisuudelta. Pikemminkin näemme samankaltaisen siirroksen, joka 500 viime vuoden mittaan päättyi miltei aina lännen eduksi. Yksi sivilisaatio heikkenee, toinen vahvistuu. Ratkaiseva kysymys ei ole, ryhtyvätkö ne taistelemaan, vaan heilahtaako heikompi heikkoudesta suoranaiseen kaaokseen.”

HistoriaSivilisaatioItäKilpailuKulttuurihistoriaLänsi
Book:Sivilisaatio : me ja muut
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“It was an idea that made the crucial difference between British and Iberian America – an idea about the way people should govern themselves. Some people make the mistake of calling that idea ‘democracy’ and imagining that any country can adopt it merely by holding elections. In reality, democracy was the capstone of an edifice that had as its foundation the rule of law – to be precise, the sanctity of individual freedom and the security of private property rights, ensured by representative, constitutional government.”

GovernmentAmericaDemocracyRepublicUs History
Book:Civilization: The West and the Rest
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“In the old days it would have been a relatively simple matter to have checked Hitler's territorial ambitions. All you'd have needed would have been the 1914 combination of Britain, France and Russia. Indeed, if such an alliance had acted decisively to defend Czechoslovakia in 1938, Hitler might even have been overthrown by his own military. But it was not to be.”

IfsHas BeensMatterMightSimpleHistoryMilitaryNeededAmbitionRussiaFranceCombinationBritainAlliancesOld DaysTerritorialCzechoslovakia
Author:Niall Ferguson
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“I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hope that the United States is the Mac to Europe's PC, and that if one part of the West can successfully update and reboot itself, it's America.”

IfsStillsStatesAmericaUnitedAcceptingUnited StatesCivilizationEuropeWestWesternRefuseVersionsHopelessCrashDoomedMicrosoftFreezeMacsWestern CivilizationUpdates
Author:Niall Ferguson
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“If the financial system has a defect, it is that it reflects and magnifies what we human beings are like. Money amplifies our tendency to overreact, to swing from exuberance when things are going well to deep depression when they go wrong. Booms and busts are products, at root, of our emotional volatility.”

IfsHumansWellsHuman BeingsEmotionalProductsRootsFinancialTendenciesSwingsDefectsExuberanceAmplifyFinancial SystemVolatilityDeep Depression
Author:Niall Ferguson
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“American Empire- it is an empire that lacks the drive to export its capital, its people and its culture to those backward regions which need them most urgently and which, if they are neglected, will breed the greatest threats to its security. It is an empire, in short, that dare not speak its name. It is an empire in denial.”

PeopleIfsNeedsCultureNamesSpeakSecurityThreatDareDenialEmpiresRegionsNeglectedAmerican Empire
Book:Empire: the rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power
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“It's all very well for us to sit here in the west with our high incomes and cushy lives, and say it's immoral to violate the sovereignty of another state. But if the effect of that is to bring people in that country economic and political freedom, to raise their standard of living, to increase their life expectancy, then don't rule it out.”

PeopleIfsWellsCountryStatesPoliticalEconomicEffectsStandardsIncreaseRaisesWestIncomeSovereigntyImmoralStandards Of LivingExpectancyPolitical FreedomLife Expectancy
Author:Niall Ferguson
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“For 500 years the West patented six killer applications that set it apart. The first to download them was Japan. Over the last century, one Asian country after another has downloaded these killer apps- competition, modern science, the rule of law and private property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society and the work ethic. Those six things are the secret sauce of Western civilization.”

YearsFirstsCountryLastsLawSecretRightsModernCenturyCivilizationSixEthicsMedicineCompetitionPropertyWestWesternConsumersJapanApplicationKillersWork EthicAsianRule Of LawSaucePrivate PropertyProperty RightsWestern CivilizationModern ScienceAppsDownloadsModern MedicineAsian Countries
Author:Niall Ferguson
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