Summer Reading List – Inspired by Greece

One of my first acts when I wake up in the morning is to check the latest with BBC news on my iPhone. As most mornings this summer, I woke up with headline news about the Greek debt crises. Not surprisingly, the European Union´s finance ministers could not agree on a new Greek bailout last… Continue reading Summer Reading List – Inspired by Greece

The Ascent of Money

Some years ago, the Harvard based historian Niall Ferguson made a four part documentary for BBC on the history of money. In the series Ferguson follows the development of currency to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet… Continue reading The Ascent of Money

Niall Ferguson on Importance of Civil Institutions

Degeneration and Regeneration after the Cold War Is the West in terminal decline? In a speech given at the Nobel Price committee in Oslo, Norway on June 25, Professor of History at Harvard University Niall Ferguson argues that, less than 25 years after the end of the Cold War and the apparent triumph of liberal… Continue reading Niall Ferguson on Importance of Civil Institutions

Niall Ferguson on the Six Killer Apps of Prosperity

Over the past few centuries, Western cultures have been very good at creating general prosperity for themselves. In the TED talk below, the British historian and Harvard University Professor Niall Ferguson asks: “Why the West, and less so the rest?” He suggests half a dozen big ideas from Western culture, calling them the six killer… Continue reading Niall Ferguson on the Six Killer Apps of Prosperity

Debate on the future of capitalism

In this recent debate at the New York Public Library, moderated by the President of the Aspen Institute, Walter Isaacson, and his guests Nassim Taleb, scholar of randomness and risk, Harvard history Professor Niall Ferguson, Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, discuss the current state and the future of capitalism. Debate… Continue reading Debate on the future of capitalism