War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of EmpiresFrom the author of End Times In War and Peace and War, Peter Turchin uses his expertise in evolutionary biology to offer a bold new theory about the course of world history. Turchin argues that the key to the formation of an empire is a society’s capacity for collective action. He demonstrates that high levels of cooperation are found where people have to band together to fight off a common enemy, and that this kind of cooperation led to the formation of the Roman and Russian empires, and the United States. But as empires grow, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, conflict replaces cooperation, and dissolution inevitably follows. Eloquently argued and rich with historical examples, War and Peace and War offers a bold new theory about the course of world history with implications for nations today. |
Contents
Slaughter in the Forest | |
Asabiya in the Desert | |
The Myth of Self Interest | |
Born to Be Wolves | |
A Medieval Black Hole | |
The Other Side of the Wheel of Fortune | |
A New Idea of Renaissance | |
The Matthew Principle | |
Wheels Within Wheels | |
War and Peace and Particles | |
The End of Empire? | |
Notes | |
Common terms and phrases
action American Arabs army asabiya battle became become began beginning Byzantine called capital century Chapter Charles Christian civil collapse collective common completely conquest continued cooperation cultural cycles death decline developed direct early east economic effect elites enemy England English Europe European example fall fighting Finally followed forces France French frontier Gauls Germans half hand historians human imperial important income increased individuals inequality internal Italian Italy killed kind king land later living medieval metaethnic Middle military nobility noble North numbers organization peace peasants percent period Persian phase political population pressure raids rational choice theory region result rise Roman Empire Rome Russian secular side social society steppe successful Tatars territory theory third towns tribes turned United University Press wars wealth whole