Buch, Englisch, 372 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 748 g
Buch, Englisch, 372 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 748 g
ISBN: 978-1-55786-246-4
Verlag: Wiley-Blackwell
How military and information innovations affect social transformation
This book explores how major social transformations are related to four categories of information innovation as well as four categories of military evolution. In The Word and the Sword, the author outlines the effects generated by methods of presenting information, such as writing, printing, and mass media. He also discusses four ways in which applications of violence, such as artillery and steam transport, have created societal change.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Editor's Preface vii
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction 1
Patterns of the Past 4
The Limits to State Power 7
Eight Key Innovations 9
Technological Determinism? 12
1 Ziggurats in the Sand 15
The Two Rivers 19
The Development of Writing 23
The Origin of Bureaucracy 28
The First Complex Societies 34
Writing and the Emergence of Civil 41
2 The Age of Gilgamesh 47
Of Walls and Warfare 50
Military Conquest and Con 53
From City-state to Empire 60
Private Property and Pace Rule 67
Frontier Games 71
3 The Shattered Mirror 77
The Roman State at the Height of its Power 80
Military Problems of the Later Roman Empire 84
Changes in the Internal and External Margins 87
Military and Economic Explanations of Rome's Failure 90
Technology and the Fall of Rome 96
4 Hexagon Dynamics 101
The Size and Shape of the Medieval State 104
Developments in Metallurgy and Arms 112
The Turning Point for France 118
The Royal Fiscal Machine 123
The Shell of the Nation State 131
5 The Eclipse of the Caravans 139
The Beginning of the Modern Age 142
The Communications Bottleneck 148
The Reformation and Literacy 152
The Challenge to Monarchic Rule 158
The Internal Margin of the Dutch State 164
The United Provinces as Nation State 172
6 Sonderweg or Railway? 181
The Emergence of a Superpower 183
Liberalism and Nationalism 195
The Railway 197
Toward Unification 203
The German Nation State 212
Resources to Burn 215
7 The Petrograd Paradox 221
The First Permanent Revolution 224
The Instruments of Mass Control 234
The Leninist Revolution 242
The Role of the Communist Party 250
The Paradox Explained 262
8 The Atomization of America 269
The High-water Mark 272
Pressure on the Border 278
Toward an Atomistic 286
The Rising Sun 294
A Unique Occurrence 304
Conclusion 311
Three Classes of Events 315
The Direction of Causality 319
A Pattern of History 321
The Pattern Explained 323
Where Are We Going? 326
Bibliography 329
Suggested Reading 341
General Index 345
Name Index 354
