https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpnFeyMGUs8

Any other Niall Ferguson fans?

Ferguson has some good points.

In general, it strikes me that some of the most cogent criticism and analysis of the US political and social scene comes from abroad, especially from the UK.

The UK has probably more than any other country in the world created more outstanding and brilliant individuals. To make a list would make any other country look inferior.

Of course Ferguson completely avoids the political division between conservatives and leftist in his presentation. Maybe because most TED scholars are on the political left, though this is just my assumption based on most of the TED lectures that are political are by marxists.

Or maybe it is completely within the right to judge the state of of Western democratic countries based on the consequences of leftists as conservatives have done almost nothing to stop the wellfare state in the last 75 years. Even now the measures taken to reverse the trend or at least prevent a new divergence where Eastern countries are far richer than western are very miniscule and are meeting immense opposition. I.e Hungarian and Czech government are right wing but are hamstringed and punished by the EU parliament for enacting conservative laws and trying to promote economic growth.

Another question is if economic growth even is a goal of the political elite in the EU and US? Poor uneducated masses are easier to control by communist than a healthy educated middle class.

It seems to me the 6 killer apps for economic prosperity is being systematically dismantled by the leftist, but as Ferguson says there is no "law" of empire life cycle like i.e Hitler believed (aka 1000 years reich) the trend is reversable and decline is always a choice like the historian Victor Davis Hanson states.

Anyone seen Ferguson's documentaries or read his books?

the UK is about the only country left in the work who stand by us time after time and we are not fnancing them.

Quote from: simpsonofpg on May 20, 2013, 07:26:31 AM
the UK is about the only country left in the work who stand by us time after time and we are not fnancing them.

I like the quote from the great historian Victor Davis Hanson on this (though this is not a direct quote) "We stay engaged with NATO and Europe because we see what happens every time we leave the Europeans for themselves, they destroy themselves in wars and drag us into it. But we never imagined that like angry petulant children they would resent us for subsidizing them".