

Complexity and Collapse: Empires on the Edge of Chaos  - cwan
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/65987/niall-ferguson/complexity-and-collapse

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dabeeeenster
URL of the whole text without subscription:

[http://laudyms.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/niall-ferguson-
compl...](http://laudyms.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/niall-ferguson-complexity-
and-collapse/)

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Estragon
Thank you

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mark_l_watson
I can't agree with the negative comments here. I think that his comparison to
chaotic systems is right-on.

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neuroelectronic
> First, debating the stages of decline may be a waste of time -- it is a
> precipitous and unexpected fall that should most concern policymakers and
> citizens. Second, most imperial falls are associated with fiscal crises. All
> the above cases were marked by sharp imbalances between revenues and
> expenditures, as well as difficulties with financing public debt.

Long article that says little and manages to contradict the few points it
makes. Read 'The Tipping Point' instead. If not, be prepared to read about a
dozen different rephrasings of

>Defeat in the mountains of the Hindu Kush or on the plains of Mesopotamia has
long been a harbinger of imperial fall.

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abhiyerra
That seems to be a problems with Ferguson. His book, "Empire: The Rise and
Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power", was
annoying in that he makes quite a few generalizations of more complex
phenomenon. In it he comes off as pro-colonialist, but completely disregards
the view from the colonized. Essentially he says that the British Empire was
good because it gave everyone a common basis for the modern world. However, he
completely ignores all the ills that empire created.

He is pretty renowned in the Historical circle, but that book put a bad taste
in my mouth.

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dantheman
My favorite historian about the British Empire is Peter Hopkirk.

His books primarily deal with central/southeast Asia.

Some books he's written: 1\. The Great Game 2\. Setting the East Ablaze 3\.
Like Hidden Fire 4\. Trespassers on the Roof of the World.

