Niall Ferguson On The Six Killer Apps Of Western Civilisation

Published: Feb. 20, 2014, 4:38 p.m.

Niall Ferguson is the most brilliant British historian of his generation. In this talk from February 2011, based on his book 'Civilisation: The West and the Rest', he asks how Western civilization came to dominate the rest of the world. \n\nHis answer is that the West developed six \u201ckiller applications\u201d that the Rest lacked: competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the Protestant work ethic. \n\nThe key question today is whether or not the West has lost its monopoly on these six things. If it has and the Rest of the world can successfully download these apps, we may be living through the end of Western ascendancy. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.\n \n\xa0See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices