Niall Ferguson: Why Great Civilizations Rise and Fall

Niall Ferguson is a renowned historian, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and prolific author of more than a dozen best-selling works on economics, culture, and politics. His newest book, "Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,” examines how our leaders and societies have dealt with disasters, including pandemics, and how we must learn from the past to better manage future crises.

In this episode, Ferguson explains why the rise and fall of civilizations do not fit into predictable patterns and cycles. He does not see American decline as inevitable and holds out that America’s best days may yet be ahead -- if it can stay on the right path. Ferguson also pulls back the curtain on the Chinese Communist Party, revealing the ways in which the CCP's strengths are exaggerated and why the United States’ support for smart policy and innovation will bolster its dominance in the years ahead.

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00:00 Episode intro
00:46 Are we doomed?
07:19 The rise of Western Civ
14:00 The history of money and DeFi
24:00 Will China overtake the U.S.?

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[robertholmes]

Lonsdale should talk less and listen more. Ferguson is a genius and has the wherewithal to tell the world how it should do civilization.

[dirthgr]

Nice. But better if host interrupted less,

[JohnCooganPlus]

Great guest! Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money is such a great book. Highly recommended.

[wellsventures]

Mr. Lonsdale I love this show and I find each episode has great lessons.

[mahirhaque]

The only problem with this podcast... Is that it wasn't long enough.

[MLeonardReel]

Great interview. Interesting discussion re reform of the administrative state. This is absolutely critical to a Western consolidation in the face of the dynamism and energy inherent in the challenge from China. 35-50% of western GDP is chewed up, wasted or redistributed by the state. We must live up to the great achievements of our ancestors to reboot our productive and creative capacities!

[aquilifergroup]

“Systems of entitlement”. Excellent description of the entitlement mentality.

[DiabeticDawg]

Holy! Incredible! Keep the interviews coming 🥰🚀

[bradstokes]

Rule of law vs Rule of Lawyers. Great point about a legal system being too expensive for most ppl to access

[smpdevelopments]

Lovr niall, great conversation wish it went on longer

[pietersmidt]

What a great conversation.. I can't believe there are only 14K views?

[lance.]

Great guests and great conversations! Well done Joe.

[davidclarke]

Excellent closing statement, very well said... at 27:30

[Exodus.Pi]

Have the host just talk the whole time and not feel like he was talking most of the time.

[Chris-fgse]

Great work. I've subscribed. Thank you!

[guenthermichaels]

I have missed NF, how influencial are you to get him on your program..
Bravo.

[geckoman]

I think a great book to piggyback on some of what he said is "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. Its a great read if you arent busy already reading one of Niall's.

[kynchan]

The American system is based on debt and getting as much debt into the system. The Chinese have followed suit as well.

[isabellaliu]

From my point of view, I think age isn’t an issue to treat leadership, it’s how and what the leader make decisions that matters.

[thermalreboot]

The 4th Turning does a great job of showing cycles of crisis.