War and Peace and War
The Rise and Fall of Empires
Nonfiction, History, Military, Other, World History, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
| Author: | Peter Turchin | ISBN: | 9781101126912 |
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group | Publication: | February 27, 2007 |
| Imprint: | Plume | Language: | English |
| Author: | Peter Turchin |
| ISBN: | 9781101126912 |
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication: | February 27, 2007 |
| Imprint: | Plume |
| Language: | English |
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.
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.
