{"product_id":"a-free-nation-deep-in-debt-9780691126326","title":"A Free Nation Deep in Debt","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the greater part of recorded history, the most successful and powerful states were autocracies; yet the world is increasingly dominated by democracies. This book provides a novel answer for how and why this political transformation occurred. It presents a history that starts in biblical times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Remarkable... [This] book could scarcely be more comprehensive... Since Macdonald was for many years a British investment banker, he has a hands-on feel for his subject. But he has not allowed his technical expertise to get in the way of his lucid prose: his argument is readily accessible to a lay reader. And that argument is convincing.\"--Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books \"A fine history of public finance from ancient Greece and Persia to the present.\"--Richard N. Cooper, Foreign Affairs \"Written clearly and accessibly... A challenging yet fascinating work [that] could hardly be more timely.\"--Michelle Wucker, Washington Post \"Macdonald has something exciting to teach all serious students of history-that the evolution of democratic institutions is not just about taxation and representation but also about investment.\"--Niall Ferguson, author of The Cash Nexus \"This book begins with Moses, ends with World War II, and covers just about every important development in public finance in between. Yet, for all his range, MacDonald offers a simple, stunning thesis: Democracy arises from public debt.\"--James Galbraith, Democracy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: THE FINANCIAL ROOTS OF DEMOCRACY 3      CHAPTER 1. TRIBES AND EMPIRES 10  Rags to Riches 10  Barbarians at the Gate 18  The Free Men Fight Back 24  Greeks and Their \"Gifts\" 31  Civic Debt 36  Kings and Tyrants 42  The Carthaginian Wars 45  Imperium Romanum 51  Breakdown 56      CHAPTER 2. CITIZEN CREDITORS 67  The Return of the City-State 67  La Serenissima 72  La Superba 77  The Monte Comune 81  The Twilight of Repayable Taxes 84  San Giorgio 94  Selfish Citizens 100      CHAPTER 3. SOVEREIGN DEBT 105  Kings and Merchants 105  The Treasure of the Indies 115  Antwerp and Lyons 122  Serial Bankruptcy 128  Folie des Offices 138      CHAPTER 4. RESISTANCE TO THE HEGEMON 148  The League of Cities 148  Regicide 157  Glorious Revolution 166      CHAPTER 5. THE CHIMERA 179  Le Roi Soleil 179  Post-bellum Depression 185  The Chimera 190  The Bubble 205      CHAPTER 6. THE DILEMMA 220  Mopping Up 221  The Ruling Class 227  The Dilemma 239  The Limits of Absolutism 255  Aristocratic Revolution 266      CHAPTER 7. REVOLUTION 272  A New World 277  The First and Second American Revolutions 289  Enemies of the People 307  The Elephant and the Whale 334      CHAPTER 8. BOURGEOIS CENTURY 347  Pax Britannica 348  The Heyday of Bourgeois Finance 355  Ties of Identity 366  A Nation of Rentiers 377  Greenbacks and 5-20s 384      CHAPTER 9. NATIONS AT ARMS 400  Total War (Part I) 400  The Settlement of Accounts (Part I) 413  Total War (Part II) 435  Totalitarian War 445  The Settlement of Accounts (Part II) 456      Epilogue: THE END OF THE AFFAIR 465  A Note on Currencies 477      Glossary 483  Notes 487  Bibliography 523  Acknowledgments 545  Index 547","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403742454103,"sku":"9780691126326","price":46.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780691126326.jpg?v=1730484416","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/a-free-nation-deep-in-debt-9780691126326","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}