Niall Ferguson TED Talk: Author Discusses 'The Six Killer Apps'

Historian Niall Ferguson discussed "the six killer apps" of prosperity in his recent TED talk.

These "apps" refer to certain ideas--competition, scientific revolution, property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society and work ethic-- that define and set apart Western culture. Ferguson explains that although in the past these characteristics have given the West an advanced role in society, things may be changing.

"The average American used to be 20 times richer than the average Chinese," he explained. "Now it's just 5 times and soon it will be 2.5...the Great Divergence is over, folks."

For more on these ideas, check out Ferguson's book, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," or watch the video below.

WATCH:

Comments

[angelwax]

01:31 PM on 12/21/2011

I disagree with Ferguson for a number of reasons too complex to attempt explain. However, I do like what he has said because some of us in our society need a person to take "inventory" and to give a two x four in the back of the head once in a while. Some of us don't respond unless we are threatened (literally and metaphorically)

[Counterintuitive]

09:17 PM on 12/05/2011

I have to give credit to anyone who attempts to formulate a grand theory of history. It can't be easy even with trailblazers like Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) and Paul Kennedy (The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers).

[ZenSufi]

04:44 PM on 12/05/2011

"What do I think about Western civilization? I think it would be a good idea." -- Gandhi

[Counterintuitive]

04:28 PM on 12/05/2011

Niall Ferguson is one of the only smart conservatives. I want to dislike him, but I can't.

[maslin]

04:36 PM on 12/05/2011

Funny position to find oneself in.

[afbklyn]

09:47 AM on 12/05/2011

So he compares Shanghai, China to the entire US and entire England to show disparity in education?

[LaoShur]

03:20 AM on 11/10/2011

He fails to mention China's habit of closing its doors to the outside world as a primary reason for its past APPs. He also mistakenly refers to European advancement as a "Christian" advancement. The reason Europeans advanced is because the Renaissance was a bold move to throw the yoke of Christian-Jew ideology off the backs and out of the minds of the populace, thereby opening the door to greater creativity and thought. He interesting, but hardly "expert" in his analysis.

[happyblackman]

04:38 PM on 11/08/2011

Okay, I admit, once the chart popped up, I tuned out. His voice is a killer. I hope he mentioned educational and nutritional progress and the fact that industrialization hits different areas at different times?

[Michael Clanchy II]

12:41 PM on 11/07/2011

I've found that TED talks tend to be shallow and, if not aimed at the lowest common denominator, then close to it. They're superficial and aimed at non-specialists, and usually end up making large, sweeping conclusions that can't be supported.

[noudidnt]

11:30 AM on 11/07/2011

Where does colonialism,genocide,andthe pillagingofnaturalresources from non-Western countries fit into his "apps"?

[Michael Clanchy II]

12:32 PM on 11/07/2011

File those under "Progress, General."

[Qi Ana]

12:05 AM on 11/09/2011

You read my mind I mean not even a mention of the trans Atlantic Slave Trade incredible how you can be so blind when telling "his" story

[noudidnt]

11:29 AM on 11/07/2011

This cl0wn compared the President to FelixtheCat. Americans are so gullible when it comes tocaucasianswithBritishaccents. See Tina Brown.

[frosty6731]

01:32 AM on 11/07/2011

He sure can weave factual compelling evidence with conjecture as well as anybody I've ever listened to. I doubt he can even distinguish between the two as he goes. I'm really not sold on this talk.

[FerrousJack]

09:17 PM on 11/06/2011

I think the general point of his presentation was a basic truism: that a society must function well if it is to survive. The "west" is in decline because those institutions (not to mention the role of natural resources) are no longer functioning properly. A civilization is a complex machine, but a machine nonetheless. If a single part no longer works properly, then whole machine will break down. Malleablility of law, disparity of political power, gross disparity of circumstance and the reemergence of indentured servitude are too much for the system to bear.

[Michael Clanchy II]

12:34 PM on 11/07/2011

People have been saying that the West is in decline as long as it has existed. Western civilization isn't going anywhere.

[Wilkby]

09:00 PM on 11/06/2011

The consumer society is one of the things tthis guy holds up as a hallmark of Western Societal greatness? Some of us think it's led to a debt laden, vapid, hollowed out, pseudo culture that's about to collapse under its own weight.

[Michael Clanchy II]

12:34 PM on 11/07/2011

What, precisely, is a "pseudo-culture"?

[Feurio]

07:19 PM on 11/06/2011

Of course, he doesn't mention human rights, all of which for long have been neglected in the west.

Many countries have had forced capitalism onto them, but since the workers have remained pretty much out of power the wealth never trickled, or rather, the people cannot climb the socio-economic ladder.

[thecouve]

06:58 PM on 11/06/2011

you don't know were your going until you know where you have been!