Doom - The Politics of Catastrophe

Magisterial ... Immensely readable'' Douglas Alexander, Financial Timesbr>br>''Insightful, productively provocative and downright brilliant'' New York Timesbr>br> A compelling history of catastrophes and their consequences, from ''the most brilliant British historian of his generation'' (The Times)br>br> Disasters are inherently hard to predict. But when catastrophe strikes, we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck. We have science on our side, after all. Yet the responses of many developed countries to a new pathogen from China were badly bungled. Why?br>br> While populist rulers certainly performed poorly in the face of the pandemic, Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work - pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters.br>br> Drawing from multiple disciplines, including economics and network science, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe offers not just a history but a general theory of disaster. As Ferguson shows, governments must learn to become less bureaucratic if we are to avoid the impending doom of irreversible decline.br>br> ''Stimulating, thought-provoking ... Readers will find much to relish'' Martin Bentham, Evening Standard>

Product details

• Authors: Niall Ferguson
• Publisher: Penguin Books Uk
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 31.07.2022
• EAN: 9780141995557
• ISBN: 978-0-14-199555-7
• No. of pages: 491
• Dimensions: 128 mm x 197 mm x 22 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Society; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Epidemiology & medical statistics, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Disasters & Disaster Relief, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Theory, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Disease & Health Issues, HISTORY / World, MEDICAL / History, General & world history, Political science & theory, Political Economy, Social impact of disasters, General and world history, History: plagues, diseases etc, Constitution: government and the state, History: plagues, diseases, famines, Social impact of disasters / accidents (natural or man-made)