Remember when Western Rome collapsed, then the centers of power moved East for 1000 years (the Dark Age in Western Europe where only the Black Death was able to solve the problem of massive unemployment). After that, the centers of power moved back West again for another 1000 years (because labor became more expensive after the Black Death so then Europe was forced to industrialize whereas Asia didn't need to because rice is labor intensive). Looks like we are ready to shift to another 1000 year trend.
White guys. This is your swan song. Sorry it is going away and there is nothing you can do to bring it back.
That's a very, verry narrow view of history.White guys. This is your swan song. Sorry it is going away and there is nothing you can do to bring it back.
The development of the law, the autonomy of universities, Colombus, Vasco de Gama and Magellan, the Scientific Revolution, the Military Revolution, the Reform, the liberal institutions... all of that's account for nothing in the rise of the West and its industrialization... it was actually just the plague
Great history lesson courtesy of Armstrong!If Asia followed a labor intensive growth path whereas Europe followed a more efficient growth path it's not because of fortuitous and external factors. Humans have the ability to make choices and thereby to act on their environment.
The Black Death was just a Malthusian check like had happenned every where in the world before that and have happened thereafter (Malthusian checks can take the form of disease, famine or wars). To answer the question of "why the West was the first to escape the Malthusian trap" by "because it underwent a Malthusian check" is deeply flawed.
The truth is the West didn't rise because of an external factor such as the plague (or the presence of coal in England or because of its geography or wathever such nonsense), but because of an internal factor: the creativiy of its people caused by its culture which fosters individualism.