The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World
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- Author：Scott L. Montgomery
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Summary
This panoramic book tells the story of how revolutionary ideas from the Enlightenment about freedom， equality， evolution， and democracy have reverberated through modern history and shaped the world as we know it today。
A testament to the enduring power of ideas， The Shape of the New offers unforgettable portraits of Adam Smith， Thomas Jefferson， Alexander Hamilton， Charles Darwin， and Karl Marx—heirs of the Enlightenment who embodied its highest ideals about progress—and shows how their thoughts， over time and in the hands of their followers and opponents， transformed the very nature of our beliefs， institutions， economies， and politics。 Yet these ideas also hold contradictions。 They have been used in the service of brutal systems such as slavery and colonialism， been appropriated and twisted by monsters like Stalin and Hitler， and provoked reactions against the Enlightenment’s legacy by Islamic Salafists and the Christian Religious Right。
The Shape of the New argues that it is impossible to understand the ideological and political conflicts of our own time without familiarizing ourselves with the history and internal tensions of these world-changing ideas。 With passion and conviction， it exhorts us to recognize the central importance of these ideas as historical forces and pillars of the Western humanistic tradition。 It makes the case that to read the works of the great thinkers is to gain invaluable insights into the ideas that have shaped how we think and what we believe。
Reviews
Grant McMeekin
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The first half I though was rather boring but the second half I found fascinating。 Especially when it got into the rational behind evangelical and Muslim thinking。
Nilendu Misra
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Talks about four key ideas in depth and in context of contemporary intellectual and social periphery。 Adam Smith， Karl Marx， Darwin and Jefferson/Hamilton。 Darwin’s chapter is brilliant and worth the price of admission on its own。
John Klinkose
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If you want to understand the ebb and flow of history and how it effects the tidal currents of today？ Read this book。
Pamela
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In The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World these two professors take four ideas that they feel represent the most influential ones that resulted from the Enlightenment and explore how they influenced such far-reaching changes as to give shape to the modern world that we live in today。 It's hard to argue with their choices。 The writings of Adam Smith on economics， Karl Marx on socialism， Charles Darwin on evolution， and the arguments and counter-arguments of Thomas In The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World these two professors take four ideas that they feel represent the most influential ones that resulted from the Enlightenment and explore how they influenced such far-reaching changes as to give shape to the modern world that we live in today。 It's hard to argue with their choices。 The writings of Adam Smith on economics， Karl Marx on socialism， Charles Darwin on evolution， and the arguments and counter-arguments of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton on democracy certainly influenced and changed the lives of millions of peoples。 They continue to do so today。 The book is an erudite and fascinating discussion of their ideas and the times in which they wrote， the various things that influenced their thoughts and how these were received at the time of publication and are still being processed in our own time。 In the case of both Marx and Darwin， the effects have been both worldwide and deeply controversial。 The authors add a separate portion describing the forces that have been anti-Enlightenment， consisting of a history of Fascism， Fundamentalist Religion in， primarily， the United States and Fundamentalist Islam worldwide。 They discuss how successful these efforts have been and what effects they have had on the populations in which they operate。The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World is an excellent read but the language is dense and scholarly and takes concentrated reading to follow。 I would not recommend it for anyone who does not have a fairly solid understanding of the writings of the four men。 It's not totally necessary to have read the originals but a good summary is necessary。 。。。more
Mikey B。
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The premise of this book is to outline five individuals （two are lumped together） who introduced four concepts or ideas that are crucial to our modern era and are responsible for “Enlightenment” and “liberalism”。 Their writings broke down the shackles of religious and aristocratic domination。They are Adam Smith （who wrote “The Wealth of Nations”）， Karl Marx， Charles Darwin， and Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton who were integral in the establishment of American democracy。All this makes for The premise of this book is to outline five individuals （two are lumped together） who introduced four concepts or ideas that are crucial to our modern era and are responsible for “Enlightenment” and “liberalism”。 Their writings broke down the shackles of religious and aristocratic domination。They are Adam Smith （who wrote “The Wealth of Nations”）， Karl Marx， Charles Darwin， and Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton who were integral in the establishment of American democracy。All this makes for a highly interesting read as it is about the key concepts encompassing liberal democracy。 All these men were secular and were for the separation of government from religious interference。 I suppose this is self-evident regarding Karl Marx and beside the point for Charles Darwin – the only one in this group who is apolitical。The authors claim that Adam Smith （1723 – 1790） is the founder of the modern capitalist system or free enterprise， but he did believe that government must exert controls to prevent monopolies， to provide education， roads – all to enable the marketing and exchange of goods。 He abhorred the aristocracy that existed during his era。 He desired the rise of a middle class。Karl Marx （1818 – 1883） wrote “Das Kapital” outlining the future utopian communist society that would provide for the poor and the workers。 Ironically this ended up appealing much more to far poorer countries than he envisioned。 So instead of transformations or revolutions taking place in relatively prosperous countries like England or Germany – they took place in Russia and then China。 The rising middle class， social services， and increasing union strength ruled out revolutions in the wealthier countries。Marxism became a magnet for poor and exploited countries during the 20th century when over half the world （Mao’s China joined the Communist Bloc in 1949）， was under some form of “communist” leadership （more like brutal dictatorships）。 Marx failed to understand the importance of nationalism， he was trapped in his paradigm of class struggle。 He never realized how his theories of government control would lead to vicious dictatorships。Charles Darwin （1809 – 1882） became anathema to the religious – particularly those who literally believed in the Bible。 With “The Origin of Species” man was no longer at the center of the world – and the world had evolved over millions of years。 Species （including man） were forever changing and not part of God’s plan; evolution made many Biblical passages erroneous and illogical。 Charles Darwin helped science become the vision of truth and rationality。The authors discourse on Alexander Hamilton （1757 – 1804） and Thomas Jefferson （1743 – 1826） gave me insights into the development of American democracy – and also some of the hypocrisy behind it。 Thomas Jefferson， one of the main authors， owned over two hundred slaves。 The slavery problem – and the conquering and genocide in the American West – haunt American “democracy” to this day。Thomas Jefferson was for a decentralized government while Alexander Hamilton wanted a strong federalist system。 This struggle is continual。 Both men agreed to remove religion from government。 Their ideals of liberty are still strong and set a world-wide example。After the excellent summaries of the lives of these men and their impact on extending “The Enlightenment” the authors bring up the modern-day enemies on these concepts。 There are three of them。Fascism:After World War I there was a broad disillusionment of liberal democracy that led to the rise of dictatorships – Stalin’s Soviet Union and Nazi Germany。 With the ending of the Cold War in the 1990’s and the “opening up” of China liberal democracy once again seemed ascendant。 But lately it is again on the decline。 The growing disparities between rich and poor have aided this。 There is a growing infatuation with right-wing dictatorships。Page 316 （my book）Admiration of violence， desire for strong and decisive leadership， “manly” aggressiveness， and rejection of “weak” tolerance of divergent views and for cautious， carefully considered rationality were what cemented nationalist ideologies…Fundamentalist Christianity:It is not only prevalent in the United States， but also in many Third World countries （Latin America）。 Fundamentalists are anti-science even though they successfully use technology to spread their falsehoods – like climate change denial and of course their Biblical version of Creationism。This book was written prior to the advent of Trump – so now there are two enemies of “Enlightenment values” within the United States – fundamentalist who exert more and more influence and a neo-fascist populist would-be dictator。Islamic Fundamentalism:This continues to spread its tentacles in both poor and rich countries。 The authors explain the fundamentalist roots of Islam through the writings of Sayyid Qutb who wants Islam to return to its traditions and ignore the pull of the modern world。 Women would be allocated to obscurity （physically and spiritually） and science and Enlightenment values permanently hidden。 In many Muslim countries science and education are not a priority， whereas religious instruction is。These three enemies of Enlightenment have commonalities。 They espouse traditional roles for women and family， authority figures are to be respected， and divergence in outlook is not tolerated。Sorry about this long review。This book was very well written and logically organized。 Even though the word “scholarly” is tossed about I did found it very readable – although I struggled at times with the analysis on economic issues。 。。。more
Michael Baranowski
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I love the basic idea of this book - a look at what the authors argue are the four ideas most responsible for the making of the modern world （capitalism， communism， evolution， and American-style democracy） and the reactions to these idea。 But there was something in the execution that made me feel like I was slogging through the book。 Maybe my attention span or ability to deeply engage with ideas isn't what it used to be， maybe I didn't devote enough time and attention to the book， or maybe the f I love the basic idea of this book - a look at what the authors argue are the four ideas most responsible for the making of the modern world （capitalism， communism， evolution， and American-style democracy） and the reactions to these idea。 But there was something in the execution that made me feel like I was slogging through the book。 Maybe my attention span or ability to deeply engage with ideas isn't what it used to be， maybe I didn't devote enough time and attention to the book， or maybe the fault wasn't entirely mine。 Whatever the case， I ended up abandoning it around the halfway point。 。。。more
Richard Crowder
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Some thirty years ago， I read a book by Peter Gay called The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment （1963）， and discovered who I was。 The Enlightenment can be summarized， in Gay’s phrase， as “ancient philosophy plus modern science”—a leap from authority to evidence， from tribalism to cosmopolitanism， from tradition to innovation， from a generally negative to a generally positive view of humanity and its possibilities。 The Shape of the New （2015） introduces the central ideas of sev Some thirty years ago， I read a book by Peter Gay called The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment （1963）， and discovered who I was。 The Enlightenment can be summarized， in Gay’s phrase， as “ancient philosophy plus modern science”—a leap from authority to evidence， from tribalism to cosmopolitanism， from tradition to innovation， from a generally negative to a generally positive view of humanity and its possibilities。 The Shape of the New （2015） introduces the central ideas of several members and heirs of the Enlightenment （Adam Smith; Marx; Darwin; and Jefferson and Hamilton）， along with some of the major forces that have opposed it （fascism， fundamentalism in Christianity and Islam）—showing how the state of the conflict came to be what it is。 “Our book was based on the notion that ideas are the vital source of all that happens in the formation of institutions， ideologies， and policies that govern our lives。 Failure to understand where they come from， what they say， and how they affect us weakens our ability to resist the forces of dark reaction that once again threaten the world。” Enjoy！ 。。。more
Lisa
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Took me awhile to get through this one but interesing
Gary Lang
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People - including me - often say that ideas are alright but that to make real impact， you also must execute。 Otherwise your idea remains expressed but not acted upon。But what if the idea is so powerful that its greatest effect is felt only years later？Also， are ideas a product of their time， resulting from their social and political milieu， or can ideas be said to *create* social and political systems， sometimes years after the ideas are created？This book is about four ideas that changed the w People - including me - often say that ideas are alright but that to make real impact， you also must execute。 Otherwise your idea remains expressed but not acted upon。But what if the idea is so powerful that its greatest effect is felt only years later？Also， are ideas a product of their time， resulting from their social and political milieu， or can ideas be said to *create* social and political systems， sometimes years after the ideas are created？This book is about four ideas that changed the world， years after their progenitors had left the planet。 The ideas are:These ideas are discussed in terms of the concepts and social theories that emanated from them， not just as concepts by themselves。 So， the book is really about more ideas than four， but argues that entire social systems were created from these four ideas， so they are root cause for much of the historical direction of the world， particularly the 20th Century which saw many changes made to human life in the name of these four ideas。1） Freedom2） Equality3） Evolution4） DemocracyFreedom is discussed as expressed by Adam Smith， who argued that we should be free to make every decision that drives our moral and material lives。 Human equality is often seen as a struggle to obtain; Karl Marx posited that revolution by proletarian masses would be required to achieve it。 Evolution became a scientific theory thanks to Charles Darwin， who said that despite religious or intuitive notions that rally against it， we should not deny the contradictions it raises about the root cause of our being here， but rather we should use these contradictions to understand both the existential questions evolution raises and evolution itself， ever deeper。 Democracy， conjured by many examples of the debates between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson would be invented by the intellectual tensions between their two approaches; the arguments themselves forming an example of democratic thinking that the country follows in its constant evolution of their foundation。The book goes deep into Darwin， Smith， Marx， Jefferson， and Hamilton to give you deep background （if you don't already have it from other reading or research）， and then for each of them runs through history to the present。 When you get to the present for each of these thinker's ideas is where the book shines。 You now have a framework to understand why the last election was so chaotic， where the recent growth terrorism came from， and to understand these events over a context that spans centuries。 。。。more
D。L。 Morrese
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I read this right after the U。S。 elections in 2016 and consequently could not summon the attention I think it deserves。 The main thesis though is to explain how ideas rooted in Enlightenment thought have shaped our modern world， some for the better， some otherwise。 Addressed are such things as the free market， evolution， liberty， and the key proponents of each （Adam Smith， Charles Darwin， Karl Marx， Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton）。 Others make an appearance to demonstrate the ideas that I read this right after the U。S。 elections in 2016 and consequently could not summon the attention I think it deserves。 The main thesis though is to explain how ideas rooted in Enlightenment thought have shaped our modern world， some for the better， some otherwise。 Addressed are such things as the free market， evolution， liberty， and the key proponents of each （Adam Smith， Charles Darwin， Karl Marx， Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton）。 Others make an appearance to demonstrate the ideas that stem from what they call Counter-Enlightenment （communism， fascism， and religious fundamentalism）。 It's an informative book that broadly paints a picture of the core ideas that have shaped Western civilization。 It also provides a warning not to take the benefits of our modern， progressive culture for granted。 Counter-Enlightenment ideas are still out there and still threaten the technological and moral progress that we've been made in the last couple of centuries。 。。。more
Mrs。 Cozin & Mrs。 Record
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Although this is mainly a white， patriarchal， top-down political history， regrettably short on female historical figures of note， I found it surprisingly enjoyable and informative。 Scott Montgomery and Daniel Chirot， both scholars and professors at University of Washington， present analyses of four a major ideas emerging from the Enlightenment period （17th and 18th century western movement that emphasized scientific theory over religious dogma， democratic rule over authoritarian or monarchical g Although this is mainly a white， patriarchal， top-down political history， regrettably short on female historical figures of note， I found it surprisingly enjoyable and informative。 Scott Montgomery and Daniel Chirot， both scholars and professors at University of Washington， present analyses of four a major ideas emerging from the Enlightenment period （17th and 18th century western movement that emphasized scientific theory over religious dogma， democratic rule over authoritarian or monarchical governments and freedom to pursue personal interests）。 The first half of the book analyzes the four ideas/historical figures Montgomery and Chirot claim influenced the modern world: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations， Karl Marx/the Communist Manifesto， Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species， and the Hamilton Jefferson debates that shaped democracy。 These ideas have influenced events and people for over 200 years; they been appropriated by many for both good and evil。 The second half of the book is dedicated to counter-responses to enlightenment including fascism and religious fundamentalism， explaining the how and why some of our biggest threats to democracy today。 The two aspects of this book that impressed me were its readability and its objectivity。 I am not a historian but as a reader with some knowledge of modern history I was able to follow Montgomery’s and Chirot’s analysis and connections because they provided sufficient background without being exhaustive。 If the authors lean towards American exceptionalism it is because， they claim， democracy was such a risky endeavor， one that we perhaps take for granted living in the 21st century western hemisphere。 It was able to sustain itself because leaders with differing ideas were willing to compromise but also because the thirteen colonies had a history of self-rule up until the later part of the 18th century - a situation， unlike that of monarchical Europe。 Montgomery and Chirot certainly address some of the blights on Western history like slavery and fascism but with the matter of fact premise that humanity is flawed and history riddled with regrettable actions that， nonetheless， are the also products of genuine beliefs and ideas。 This lack of impassioned condemnation may strike some as dismissive。 To be fair， the authors treat almost all examples in this objective fashion including Christian Fundamentalism and Islamic Fundamentalism。 Of these ideas， the authors state ”while it is clear we do not agree with them， the ideas behind them have to be taken seriously and understood” （429）。 This approach is successful as it allows the reader room to think for him or herself and possibly explore these events and ideas beyond this work。 。。。more
Ben McFarland
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I can't help but compare this book to Minding the Modern by Thomas Pfau。 Both take a wide-angle lens to history and trace the evolution of thinking -- The Shape of the New through four thinkers' works （Adam Smith， Karl Marx， Charles Darwin， and the Jefferson/Hamilton dialogue）， but Minding the Modern through about as many words （person， will， purpose， etc。）。 Pfau goes back farther， is much more critical of the Enlightenment， and in the end focuses his narrative on a single thinker， Samuel Taylor I can't help but compare this book to Minding the Modern by Thomas Pfau。 Both take a wide-angle lens to history and trace the evolution of thinking -- The Shape of the New through four thinkers' works （Adam Smith， Karl Marx， Charles Darwin， and the Jefferson/Hamilton dialogue）， but Minding the Modern through about as many words （person， will， purpose， etc。）。 Pfau goes back farther， is much more critical of the Enlightenment， and in the end focuses his narrative on a single thinker， Samuel Taylor Coleridge。 The conversation between The Shape of the New and Minding the Modern is valuable。 The Shape of the New is much more conventional （and easier to read）。 Even so， it filled in a few gaps for me historically， especially with Marx。 Montgomery and Chirot have found a useful "zoom level" for their approach。 They lay out the horrors of Marx and Social Darwinism as succinctly as anymore。 They also make a good effort to be fair to the Counter-Enlightenment thinkers， incorporating some of Philip Jenkins' work on the church in the developing world， for example。 Despite these efforts， they remain fully pro-Enlightenment， reminding me of a colleague's remark that academia is inherently conservative。 Pfau comes off as relatively revolutionary in his emphasis on critique。 Although they know all the reasons why so many people are against the Enlightenment （or more properly want to reform it in some way）， Montgomery and Chirot never seem to quite understand at a gut level why someone would be against the obvious gains of the Enlightenment， and as such， the closest the book comes to being revolutionary at the end is a daring call for more humanities education。 Pfau's analysis is more fruitful， because it works better to analyze words rather than nebulous ideas， and because he ends with a specific， underappreciated thinker in the person of Coleridge。 Montgomery and Chirot talk about how important it is to read the original texts， but they do so in a book that doesn't actually quote the original texts much -- Pfau quotes original texts much more than they do！ In the end， I'll take Pfau， but better yet， I'll read both books and realize that it's Pfau's analysis that sticks with me and gives me a direction。 Still， Montgomery and Chirot have written a fine book because it allows for this kind of deep comparison to other thinkers' works， and I think if we continue to debate at this level， there's hope of true progress in this discussion。 。。。more
Uwe Hook
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A verbose and thought provoking look at political， scientific and religious ideas of the last few hundred years and how these have moved the human race into our current situation of governments， and disagreements。 An opportunity to open one's mind to the worldly problems of the present and the challenges of our human minds and how they seem to work differently for different people。 A verbose and thought provoking look at political， scientific and religious ideas of the last few hundred years and how these have moved the human race into our current situation of governments， and disagreements。 An opportunity to open one's mind to the worldly problems of the present and the challenges of our human minds and how they seem to work differently for different people。 。。。more
Michael Elkon
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Solid history of the importance of ideas。 The authors do a nice job of explaining the concepts of Adam Smith， Marx， Darwin， Jefferson， and Hamilton。 The prose is good and I never found myself bored。 The authors also did a fine job of mining numerous sources to get various perspectives on these five thinkers。 I have three primary criticisms of the book， and neither are enough to deprive it of four stars:1。 I would have liked for them to justify why they picked the five specific individuals。 Speci Solid history of the importance of ideas。 The authors do a nice job of explaining the concepts of Adam Smith， Marx， Darwin， Jefferson， and Hamilton。 The prose is good and I never found myself bored。 The authors also did a fine job of mining numerous sources to get various perspectives on these five thinkers。 I have three primary criticisms of the book， and neither are enough to deprive it of four stars:1。 I would have liked for them to justify why they picked the five specific individuals。 Specifically， Freud comes up on a number of occasions and he's arguably as important as Darwin in having ideas that made a major impact on the world， so why spend a chapter on the latter， but not the former？2。 They didn't work hard enough to identify how the ideas of the five thinkers translated into tangible change。 The authors do a good job of explaining how the ideas have been treated over time。 For instance， the discussion of Marx's effects on the Russian Revolution and then the subsequent Communist or Socialist regimes that sprouted up after the USSR came into being is good。 However， I'd like a little more discussions of the mechanics of how that happens。 The conclusion of the book is that humanities are important because it is the study of ideas that change the world， but if that's the case， then how do those ideas translate into tangible action？ In a book where you're talking about Marx， you need to address the materialist view of history that contradicts your notion that history is driven by the ideas of great men。3。 The chapter on Hamilton and Jefferson should have addressed Michael Lind's thesis in "Land of Promise" that Hamilton's view of the proper role of government - that it should support industry and take an activist role - is simply better than that of Jefferson and more useful in light of how the world would develop。 If history is driven by ideas and Hamilton and Jefferson are two of the people whose ideas mattered， then how do you address the fact that those ideas were in total conflict？ Lind would argue that Hamilton won in the end， which would make a chapter about him more important than one about him and Jefferson。 And I say this as a UVA grad who is inclined to always think the best of Jefferson （with the obvious exception of his refusal to accept the implication of his own rhetoric on slavery）。Here are some of the little nuggets that I learned reading the book:1。 Marx and Smith really aren't that different。 Marx liked Smith's work and thought that it was important for understanding the functioning and eventual demise of capitalism。 And Smith was hardly a pure free market conservative， as he saw a role for government in regulating the excesses of the market。 He certainly isn't the libertarian that certain conservatives claim him to be。2。 While the implementation of Marxism was a disaster everywhere it was tried and Marx's predictions regarding the demise of capitalism were wrong in a number of respects， his views of history and some of his predictions were accurate。 He was right about how the accumulation of capital would lead to substantial inequality。 He was right that capitalist systems would lurch from crisis to crisis。 And he was right that the capitalist powers would fight wars with one another over resource acquisition。 He was unable to come up with a prescription for a better system and he underestimated the ability of capitalist democracies to ameliorate the condition of the working class with reforms， such as those of the New Deal。3。 Darwin spent years writing "On the Origin of Species。" It came out years after his trip on the Beagle。 And unlike Marx， his assessment turned out to be true。 He was right about natural selection causing changes in species and that genetic variance was the way that natural selection happened。 The authors do a great job of explaining how Darwin's theory， in conjunction with the advances in geology that established the age and history of the planet， were revolutionary for the mindset of millions of people。4。 Although fascism was a rejection of the Enlightenment in a host of ways， it borrowed from Darwin in turning the concept of natural selection into an argument for the competition of races。 Likewise， communism came from an Enlightenment thinker （Marx） and then became a rejection of the Enlightenment in its trampling of individual rights。 。。。more
David Rubenstein
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Crap。
Robert
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Is it possible to explain the modern world （or any world， for that matter） within the covers of a single book？ Mr。 Montgomery attempts to accomplish this herculean task and while ultimately unsuccessful， does provide the reader who manages to stay with his arguments many insights into major effects of the Enlightenment on society。 His is an idealist history and consequently dismisses as secondary in importance material changes in society as contributing to how we live and think today。 But this i Is it possible to explain the modern world （or any world， for that matter） within the covers of a single book？ Mr。 Montgomery attempts to accomplish this herculean task and while ultimately unsuccessful， does provide the reader who manages to stay with his arguments many insights into major effects of the Enlightenment on society。 His is an idealist history and consequently dismisses as secondary in importance material changes in society as contributing to how we live and think today。 But this is a quible。 Mr。 Montgomery says so much about so many things that some of his ideas about how we got to where we are useful insights into understanding contemporary society。 I find especially helpful Mr。 Montgomery's description and analysis of the tension between Enlightenment and pre-Enlightenment or non-Enlightenment values or theories of society。 His writings on this topic， I find highly useful in understanding contemporary American politics and social conflict。 If I were inclined to make a more rigorous study of contemporary social thought， Mr。 Montgomefry's book would be a useful guide to the literature and issues。 。。。more
Tiffany Dharma
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"Invading armies can be resisted; invading ideas cannot be，" wrote Victor Hugo。 It was a fitting opening for a book that above all else， instilled in me an awe for the power of ideas。 The authors selected the following as their big four: capitalism， socialism， evolution， and liberal democracy。 While one can make arguments for a different selection， the authors did a great job of surveying the genesis， proliferation， and reverberating impact of each one。 Despite the panoramic nature of the topic， "Invading armies can be resisted; invading ideas cannot be，" wrote Victor Hugo。 It was a fitting opening for a book that above all else， instilled in me an awe for the power of ideas。 The authors selected the following as their big four: capitalism， socialism， evolution， and liberal democracy。 While one can make arguments for a different selection， the authors did a great job of surveying the genesis， proliferation， and reverberating impact of each one。 Despite the panoramic nature of the topic， I was continually impressed by the deftness of their argument and nuance in their analysis。 The book is capped by two shorter chapters on the political ideologies of fundamentalist Christianity and radical Islam， which I also found fascinating。I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a broad understanding of capitalism et。 al。 as historical forces and frameworks for analyzing the present day。 This book does require concentrated attention， as the style can be academic， and the content can be dense。 But I found the investment highly worthwhile。 。。。more
John
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Often as I read this book I felt as if I was doing "required" college reading。 Even so， I slogged on， mainly because the overall subject matter seemed interesting。 It's about four profound historical changes and their impact on the economic and political structures on life as we live it today。 Reading about Adam Smith was a drag， Marx and Darwin a little less so。 Appeal for me picked up with impact of Hamilton and Jefferson。 After that it was back to tedium for discussions about fascism， politic Often as I read this book I felt as if I was doing "required" college reading。 Even so， I slogged on， mainly because the overall subject matter seemed interesting。 It's about four profound historical changes and their impact on the economic and political structures on life as we live it today。 Reading about Adam Smith was a drag， Marx and Darwin a little less so。 Appeal for me picked up with impact of Hamilton and Jefferson。 After that it was back to tedium for discussions about fascism， politics and God in America and Muslim reaction to western enlightenment。 The book's lack of engaging prose mystifies me; why a tome that proposes such edifying promise turned out to be such a lifeless read。 In all， it was a big letdown。 。。。more
Dean
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Little disappointed。 Ordered after a strong start with the sample。 Understand meant to be a survey but didn't felt enough new insight provided。 Also was distracted by the footnotes。 The footnotes should have been put in the back。 The author missed that there were two national banks and that Jackson killed the second not Hamilton's first。 Little disappointed。 Ordered after a strong start with the sample。 Understand meant to be a survey but didn't felt enough new insight provided。 Also was distracted by the footnotes。 The footnotes should have been put in the back。 The author missed that there were two national banks and that Jackson killed the second not Hamilton's first。 。。。more
Andrew
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2015 NYT notable book
Mary
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It is certainly possible to disagree about whether the four ideas included， Marxism， democracy， capitalism as envisioned by Adam smith and Darwinism， are as influential as the author's contend， but their discussion of them is certainly fascinating， compelling and thought provoking。 The first four， long， chapters focus each on one of these ideas: it's development and its influence across history。 The remaining chapters look at major cultural， social and political trends intertwined with these fou It is certainly possible to disagree about whether the four ideas included， Marxism， democracy， capitalism as envisioned by Adam smith and Darwinism， are as influential as the author's contend， but their discussion of them is certainly fascinating， compelling and thought provoking。 The first four， long， chapters focus each on one of these ideas: it's development and its influence across history。 The remaining chapters look at major cultural， social and political trends intertwined with these four: fundamentalism and evangelicalism， Islam and fascism， specifically。 I found the book incredibly engaging， easy to read and follow and very current。 I only wish they could have addressed even more cultural trends。 But I guess the book is already long enough as it is。They make a compelling case for the importance of understanding important ideas， their possible ramifications and misuses and their unintended consequences。 。。。more
Carl Nelson
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