Goodbye Poverty! ( Eng. A Farewell to Alms ) is a book on the economic history of Gregory Clark , with the subtitle " A Brief Economic History of the World ." The title of the book is a pun, echoing the title of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, Farewell to Arms! ".
| Goodbye Poverty! Brief economic history of the world | |
|---|---|
| general information | |
| Author | Gregory Clark |
| Type of | |
| Genre | Economic history Social evolution |
| Original version | |
| Title | A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World |
| Language | English |
| Place of publication | USA |
| Publishing house | Princeton University Press |
| The year of publishing | 2007 year |
| Russian version | |
| Translator | Nikolay Edelman |
| Place of publication | Moscow |
| Publishing house | Gaidar Institute Publishing House |
| The year of publishing | 2012 |
| ISBN | 978-5-93255-338-1 |
Contents
The book examines the gap between rich and poor countries that has arisen as a result of the industrial revolution . Clark (who is British by birth) claims that the breakup began in England. Until 1790, Clark argues, humanity was confronted with the Malthusian trap : new technologies improved efficiency and produced more food, as a result of which the population grew, leading to poverty and a decline in productivity.
Contrary to the prevailing theory that the “industrial revolution” occurred due to the unexpected appearance of stable political, legal and economic institutions in Europe in the 17th century, Clark shows that such institutions arose long before industrialization and gradually led to deep cultural shifts, prompting people to abandon the “hunting -collegial ”instincts (violence, impatience, power saving) and to master new economic habits (hard work, rationality, education). According to Clark, the problem is that only societies with a long history of peace and security can develop the cultural traits and effective workforce that make economic growth possible. For societies in which there were no long periods of stability, industrialization did not produce the maximum effect [1] .
Notes
Links
- Volodin A. Farewell to poverty! Hello, welfare? (Notes on the book of G. Clark) // Economic history. 2013. No. 1. P. 108–111.