Geschichte

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📘 Book Overview: Peak Human by Johan Norberg

Publisher: Atlantic Books Length: 400 pages Price: $32.99 / £22 Author: Johan Norberg, Swedish historian Thesis: Golden ages of human history were driven by openness—to trade, people, and ideas—and declined when societies turned inward. 🏛️ Key Historical Case Studies

1. Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), China

   Progress:

    Rule of law and meritocratic bureaucracy.
   
    Toleration of dissent: e.g., officials not executed for opposing the emperor.
   
    Peasant property rights and freedom of movement.
   
    Agricultural output surged, fueling urban growth (Kaifeng vastly larger than London at the time).
   
    Advanced commerce: paper money, canals, international trade.
   
    Technological innovation: movable type, industrial processes (e.g., coal for smelting).
   

   Decline:

    Mongol invasion preserved tech but stalled further progress.
   
    Ming dynasty (from 1368) imposed harsh reactionary policies:
   
        Banned ocean-worthy ships and foreign trade.
   
        Reinstated ancient fashion and punished deviation (e.g., forced castration for wrong hairstyles).
   
        Economic regression followed—Chinese incomes halved (1080–1400).
   
    China only rebounded with liberalization in the late 20th century.
   

2. Athens

   Achievements:

    Democracy and liberal trade: tariffs only 2%.
   
    Welcomed foreigners—e.g., a Syrian ex-slave became a wealthy man.
   
    High economic freedom (per Fraser Institute’s index)—higher than any modern nation.
   

   Limitations:

    Exclusion of women and slaves from freedoms.
   

3. Roman Empire

   Strengths:

    Inclusive citizenship and cultural learning from conquered peoples.
   
    Unified legal system and extensive road network.
   
    Economic policies:
   
        Augustus introduced a flat poll tax and low marginal tax rates.
   
        Encouraged innovation and productivity.
   

   Decline:

    Mismanagement:
   
        Coinage debasement led to hyperinflation.
   
        Price controls stifled commerce.
   
        Rise of dogma and suppression of intellectual freedom.
   
    Collapse followed due to plagues, invasions, and poor governance.
   
    Dark Ages marked by massive societal regression (e.g., decline in shipwrecks = less trade).
   

4. Abbasid Caliphate

   Misconceptions:

    Revered by extremists today (e.g., ISIS), but historically a beacon of tolerance and intellectual flourishing.
   

5. Italian Renaissance

   Clarification:

    Originated in rebellion against Christian orthodoxy and embraced pagan ideals.
   
    Not a purely “Christian” cultural phenomenon.
   

6. Britain’s Industrial Revolution

   Reality Check:

    Contrary to romanticized misery (e.g., Dickens, Blake), diaries suggest most people were satisfied—except poets and writers.
   

📉 Modern Relevance & Lessons Contemporary Parallels

Globalization after 1990 marked the most dramatic improvement in living standards—half of humanity’s 10,000-year progress occurred since then.

Current global shift toward nationalism and closed borders threatens this “peak human” moment.

Warning Signs

Rising trade wars and suppression of inquiry mirror the downfall patterns of historic golden ages.

The book implies (though does not name) Donald Trump as a symbol of such regressive policies.

💡 Central Argument

Societies thrive when they are open—to trade, immigration, dissent, and innovation. They decline when fear, rigidity, and insularity take over.

Norberg asserts:

Golden ages are man-made and reversible.

Collapse stems from bad leadership, dogma, and refusal to learn.

“Failure is not a fate but a choice.”

📚 Style and Reception

Rich in historical narrative, analytical rigor, and counterintuitive insights.

Challenges popular myths with empirical evidence.

Timely and persuasive, especially given rising global protectionism and authoritarianism.