British historian delivered a talk for the Frontiers of Thought conference sessions
Photo: Luiz Munhoz
Niall Ferguson, one of the most renowned historians from Great Britain, began his speech for the Frontiers of Thought, in one of the last sessions of the year, discussing his short tour around Porto Alegre and the perception of civilization he observed in its universities, its soccer teams and the meal he had at a local steakhouse. On a more serious note, Ferguson US president Donald Trump and the phenomenon of populism were targets of his criticism; he also presented the striking differences in terms of economic growth in certain European societies, from 1820 to 1995, in comparison to the rest of the world, in the evening of Nov 27.
The reasons for these striking differences in terms of wealth and growth do not lie in imperialism, geographic location or even race. In an attempt to explain the reasons behind the success of the Western world, Ferguson made use of an increasingly popular technological term these days, the “apps”. He goes on to define six “apps” that memorialize concepts and institutions employed in the West and that can be used in any society regardless of the culture, geographic location and history: competition; scientific revolution; property rights; modern medicine; consumption society and work ethic.
Competition means political and economic power decentralization. Scientific revolution makes people understand and manipulate the natural world. Property rights, along with land possessions, reduces social inequalities. Modern medicine brings “miracles” as it saves lives and increases life expectancy. Consumption society plays a key role in the capitalist economic system. Work ethic, defined by Max Weber as the spirit of capitalism resulting from Protestantism, can be employed in any market, as well as the abovementioned ideas, which came from the West but can be used in the East.
However, Ferguson adds that starting in 1979, this scenario begins to change, as Eastern countries began to adopt many of these ideas, bridging the gap between the West and the East. In his view, this is mostly due to the decline in Western organizations, the generation clashes, excessive regulation, supremacy of attorneys over the law and the decline of the civil society. “We are in a moment of transition as the West is losing its supremacy over the East, and I think this is fantastic, since millions of Asians do not live in the poverty line anymore.”
In his talk he also talked about intergenerational inequality, the importance of education and the effects of the internet, which brings an even higher disparity. “Twitter is, in many ways, something terrible. Every post containing emotional language is widely shared, that’s why so many tweets are offensive and aggressive. The emergence of social media may be causing the civilization to fall apart and being replaced with a non-civilization”, said he.
Photo: Luiz Munhoz
Niall Ferguson
Recognized by Time magazine, as one of the 100th most influential people in the world, Niall Ferguson has written over tens of books, including Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World and The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die. In Civilization: The West and the Rest, released in Brazil in 2016, he presents a referential narrative for the history of modern world.
As an expert in economics, financial market and economic history, he has taught in Harvard and at the London School of Economics. Today, Ferguson is a professor and researcher at Stanford University.
Civilization
Season 2017 of project Frontiers of Thought is guided by the topic Civilization – society and its values. Relying on cultural support from PUCRS, up until December internationally recognized guests will be coming to Porto Alegre to address the quest for reconstruction, conscience and redemption of values. The last conference of the year will feature Canadian evolutionary psychologist Susan Pinker, on Dec 4.
