My review is here. https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2018/Klingstorystraight.html
5 thoughts on “Kling on Jonah Goldberg’s Book”
Is the problem that he’s preaching to the converted again?
Link is bad.
Finally got there. I think I will pass on goldbergs book.
Excellent quick summary, with the feeling of accuracy.
These stories helped hold larger societies together for long periods, but they also discouraged commerce and innovation. (#4, starting 3k years ago, with religion).
It’s not clear to me that religion held back commerce directly, so much as exalted non-commercial pursuits, which is a relative holding back as compared to progress in art or math or logic.
One of the most key concepts is how wealth creation is win-win, positive sum, while relative power is zero-sum (the more I have, the less you have), perhaps more like land ownership.
Calling economic development “the Miracle” is effective — and also God-related. It’s not clear if Goldberg includes much room for Christian values: The institutions of the free market and democratic equality gave us the Miracle.
“Democratic equality” owes a huge debt to Christianity, and each person having an individual relationship with God. With a dominant USA in the world today, there seems to be a lot of thinking that Christianity is no longer needed for Democratic equality — yet the hypocritical boycotting of MAGA hat wearers in various places shows that the current moral alternatives are sub-optimal, and less good than Christianity has been.
“It’s not clear to me that religion held back commerce directly, so much as exalted non-commercial pursuits, which is a relative holding back as compared to progress in art or math or logic.”
Most religions, including Christianity, did prohibit usury, which was interpreted as paying *any* interest on debt. Borrowing and lending money was thus bound up in religion (see Jewish moneylenders, Shylock, etc). That was likely a significant restriction on commerce, and the Miracle does coincide with the weakening of that restriction.
Is the problem that he’s preaching to the converted again?
Link is bad.
Finally got there. I think I will pass on goldbergs book.
Excellent quick summary, with the feeling of accuracy.
These stories helped hold larger societies together for long periods, but they also discouraged commerce and innovation. (#4, starting 3k years ago, with religion).
It’s not clear to me that religion held back commerce directly, so much as exalted non-commercial pursuits, which is a relative holding back as compared to progress in art or math or logic.
One of the most key concepts is how wealth creation is win-win, positive sum, while relative power is zero-sum (the more I have, the less you have), perhaps more like land ownership.
Calling economic development “the Miracle” is effective — and also God-related. It’s not clear if Goldberg includes much room for Christian values:
The institutions of the free market and democratic equality gave us the Miracle.
“Democratic equality” owes a huge debt to Christianity, and each person having an individual relationship with God. With a dominant USA in the world today, there seems to be a lot of thinking that Christianity is no longer needed for Democratic equality — yet the hypocritical boycotting of MAGA hat wearers in various places shows that the current moral alternatives are sub-optimal, and less good than Christianity has been.
“It’s not clear to me that religion held back commerce directly, so much as exalted non-commercial pursuits, which is a relative holding back as compared to progress in art or math or logic.”
Most religions, including Christianity, did prohibit usury, which was interpreted as paying *any* interest on debt. Borrowing and lending money was thus bound up in religion (see Jewish moneylenders, Shylock, etc). That was likely a significant restriction on commerce, and the Miracle does coincide with the weakening of that restriction.