The Singularity of Western Innovation

Explores the connection between language, technology, and empire

Argues that standardized language made the Industrial Revolution possible

Connects literacy to the rise of the West in the seventeenth century

Explores the connection between language, technology, and empire Argues that standardized language made the Industrial Revolution possible Connects literacy to the rise of the West in the seventeenth century

Auteur
Leonard Dudley is Honorary Professor at the Université de Montréal, Canada. He received his PhD in economics from Yale University, USA, and his principal research interest is technological change.

Contenu

1. Introduction.- 2. 1600: The Dynastic Cycle.- 3. Printing.- 4. Literacy.- 5. Language Standardization.- 6. 1700: Financing the Imperial State.- 7. Steam Makes Waves.- 8. Machines to Make Machines.- 9. Cloning the Industrial Revolution.- 10. 1793: A Geopolitical Watershed.- 11. Steamships.- 12. Shell-firing Artillery.- 13. Mass-Produced Firearms.- 14. Conclusion.