HowTheScotsInventedTheModernWorld
How the Scots Invented the Modern World (Arthur Herman)
- Bailed starting on chapter 8. Interesting in places (Highlanders revolt in 1745.) but not enough so.
- The point of this book is that being Scottish is more than just a matter of nationality or even culture. It is a state of mind, a way of viewing the world and our place in it.
- A large part of the world turns out to be "Scottish" without realizing it. The Scots created the basic ideal of modernity.
- "In the long term, we are all dead" John Meynard Keynes.
- The Ssottish enlightment presented man as the product of history. Our fundamental character is constantly evolving and developing, shaped by forces over which individuals have little or no control. We are ultimately creatures of our environment.
- Being good means doign good for others. MAn was born to be with others, and born to make their lives more pleasant.
- Almost half of all American trade in tobacco was in Scottish hands.