My arguments for liberal empire or whatever you want to call it - hegemony, primacy, you name it - are really activated by a sense that the alternatives involve more violence, more repression, more hardship. Niall Ferguson More Quotes by Niall Ferguson More Quotes From Niall Ferguson In Stalin's Russia racial persecution was often disguised as class warfare. More than 1.5 million members of ethnic minorities died as a result of forced resettlement. Niall Ferguson russia class history Oral history is a recipe for complete misrepresentation because almost no one tells the truth, even when they intend to. Niall Ferguson misrepresentation recipes telling-the-truth The Japanese Co-Prosperity Zone began as a racist utopia and ended as a cross between an abbatoir, a plantation and a brothel. Niall Ferguson prosperity racist history The Armenian genocide showed what could happen when empires were beaten into nations. Niall Ferguson empires genocide history You really struggle to be a successful empire if you are also the world's biggest debtor. Niall Ferguson debtors successful struggle No civilization, no matter how mighty it may appear to itself, is indestructible. Niall Ferguson matter may civilization Collaboration is risky. If it fails, if the occupation is wound up prematurely and the bad guys come back to power, you might find yourself in some serious trouble. Niall Ferguson finding-yourself collaboration guy I think the condition of imperial denial is a handicap because if you do not recognize that you are essentially performing the functions of an empire, you are incapable of learning from the mistakes of past empires. Niall Ferguson mistake past thinking From the earliest days, the Rothschilds appreciated the importance of proximity to politicians, the men who determined not only the extent of budget deficits but also the domestic and foreign policies. Niall Ferguson determined men world I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hope that the United States is the Mac to Europe's PC, and that if one part of the West can successfully update and reboot itself, it's America. Niall Ferguson europe civilization america When I first came to Oxford, I struggled to feel comfortable in an Anglican, public school-dominated institution. Niall Ferguson oxford school firsts The rise of the West is, quite simply, the pre-eminent historical phenomenon of the second half of the second millennium after Christ. Niall Ferguson historical west half Why did the Germans and Japanese keep fighting after 1943 when every rational hope of victory had disappeared? Niall Ferguson victory fighting history A historian is battling all the time to remember as much as possible. Niall Ferguson historian remember I would say I'm a 19th-century liberal, possibly even an 18th-century one. Niall Ferguson 19th-century 18th-century century When bond prices fall, interest rates soar, with painful consequences for all borrowers. Niall Ferguson interest painful fall Today, the average Korean works a thousand hours more a year than the average German. A thousand. ... That is the end of the Great Divergence. Niall Ferguson motivation inspiration average There aren't many people who really put their life on the line for human freedom. Niall Ferguson human freedom life people It's great to see countries like China and India lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty by essentially copying Western ways of doing things. Niall Ferguson doing great poverty people The great thing about behavioural psychology and economics is that they help us to see that there are actually pretty good reasons why human beings swing from greed to fear, and why we're not really calculating machines or utility-maximisers. Niall Ferguson great good economics fear
