Author: Peter Drucker Published in 1939 , this was Drucker’s first major work. It is not a management book — it is political economy and social philosophy. The core argument: Fascism arose because liberal capitalism failed to provide social meaning and security after World War I. The “economic man” — the Enlightenment idea that humans are primarily rational, self-interested economic actors — collapsed under mass unemployment, inflation, and social humiliation. When economic systems fail to deliver dignity, people seek belonging in authoritarian movements. Central Thesis 1️⃣ Liberal Capitalism Assumed Stability 19th-century thought assumed: Free markets Individual rationality Limited government But this system depended on social cohesion and economic progress. 2️⃣ The Great Depression Broke the System Mass unemployment Middle-class collapse Political paralysis Economic insecurity became existential insecurity. 3️⃣ Totalitarian Movements Filled t...
Author: J. Bradford DeLong What the Book Is About (Core Thesis) The book argues that 1870–2010 was humanity’s most transformative economic era — the period when technological progress, industrialization, and organizational innovation dramatically increased global living standards. But: We got the wealth of utopia, not the social stability . Economic growth accelerated — political and social institutions did not keep pace. Central Argument Structure 1️⃣ The Inflection Point: ~1870 Around 1870: Second Industrial Revolution Electricity, internal combustion engine Modern corporations Scientific R&D becomes systematic Productivity growth compounds. 2️⃣ 1870–1945: Chaos and Catastrophe Despite rapid growth: World War I Great Depression World War II Fascism & totalitarianism Technology + mass politics created instability. 3️⃣ 1945–1973: The “Social Democratic Compromise” Post-war institutions stabilized capitalism: Welfare stat...