-
The Decline and Rise of Democracy
- A Global History from Antiquity to Today
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, World
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $20.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Narrow Corridor
- States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty
- By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 262
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 210
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
Liberty is hardly the "natural" order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Long and Derivative
- By Todd on 02-10-20
By: Daron Acemoglu, and others
-
The Right
- The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism
- By: Matthew Continetti
- Narrated by: Carl Sayles
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism’s evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, until they began to buckle under new pressures, resembling national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism’s past, the more one becomes convinced of its future.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Authors bias shows
- By Mary Lou Vodar on 04-30-22
-
The Knowledge Machine
- How Irrationality Created Modern Science
- By: Michael Strevens
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
A paradigm-shifting work that revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Almost there. Scholarly review.
- By John on 05-02-21
By: Michael Strevens
-
Tyrant
- Shakespeare on Politics
- By: Stephen Greenblatt
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 199
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 173
As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
What is the city but the people
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
-
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,745
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,354
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,330
Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Summary of Political History I've Read
- By blah on 05-12-13
By: Francis Fukuyama
-
The WEIRDest People in the World
- How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
- By: Joseph Henrich
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 307
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 243
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of mispronounced words
- By Phillip Falk on 10-24-20
By: Joseph Henrich
-
The Narrow Corridor
- States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty
- By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 262
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 210
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
Liberty is hardly the "natural" order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Long and Derivative
- By Todd on 02-10-20
By: Daron Acemoglu, and others
-
The Right
- The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism
- By: Matthew Continetti
- Narrated by: Carl Sayles
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism’s evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, until they began to buckle under new pressures, resembling national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism’s past, the more one becomes convinced of its future.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Authors bias shows
- By Mary Lou Vodar on 04-30-22
-
The Knowledge Machine
- How Irrationality Created Modern Science
- By: Michael Strevens
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
A paradigm-shifting work that revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Almost there. Scholarly review.
- By John on 05-02-21
By: Michael Strevens
-
Tyrant
- Shakespeare on Politics
- By: Stephen Greenblatt
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 199
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 173
As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
What is the city but the people
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
-
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,745
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,354
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,330
Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Summary of Political History I've Read
- By blah on 05-12-13
By: Francis Fukuyama
-
The WEIRDest People in the World
- How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
- By: Joseph Henrich
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 307
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 243
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of mispronounced words
- By Phillip Falk on 10-24-20
By: Joseph Henrich
-
Twilight of Democracy
- The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
- By: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Anne Applebaum
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,684
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,456
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,442
From the United States and Britain to continental Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under siege, while authoritarianism is on the rise. In Twilight of Democracy, Anne Applebaum, an award-winning historian of Soviet atrocities who was one of the first American journalists to raise an alarm about antidemocratic trends in the West, explains the lure of nationalism and autocracy. In this captivating essay, she contends that political systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently appealing, especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone else.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Reductive and simplistic
- By Erik C on 08-16-20
By: Anne Applebaum
-
We Don't Know Ourselves
- A Personal History of Modern Ireland
- By: Fintan O'Toole
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 66
In We Don't Know Ourselves, Fintan O'Toole weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society - perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant. Pure pleasure.
- By Jim Dunn on 03-22-22
By: Fintan O'Toole
-
How Democracies Die
- By: Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,548
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,212
Donald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent two decades studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang - in a revolution or military coup - but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Connecting the Dots
- By Sharon F on 02-06-18
By: Steven Levitsky, and others
-
The Price of Peace
- Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
- By: Zachary D. Carter
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 580
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 488
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 487
At the dawn of World War I, a young academic named John Maynard Keynes hastily folded his long legs into the sidecar of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle for an odd, frantic journey that would change the course of history. Swept away from his placid home at Cambridge University by the currents of the conflict, Keynes found himself thrust into the halls of European treasuries to arrange emergency loans and packed off to America to negotiate the terms of economic combat.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
An uncritical analysis.
- By Anonymous User on 10-27-20
-
Liberalism and Its Discontents
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
It's no secret that liberalism didn't always live up to its own ideals. In America, many people were denied equality before the law. Who counted as full human beings worthy of universal rights was contested for centuries, and only recently has this circle expanded to include women, African Americans, LGBTQ+ people, and others. Conservatives complain that liberalism empties the common life of meaning. As Francis Fukuyama shows in Liberalism and Its Discontents, the principles of liberalism have also, in recent decades, been pushed to new extremes by both the right and the left.
By: Francis Fukuyama
-
The Age of the Strongman
- How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World
- By: Gideon Rachman
- Narrated by: John Hopkins, Gideon Rachman
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 7
We are in a new era: Authoritarian leaders have become a central feature of global politics. Since 2000, self-styled strongmen have risen to power in capitals as diverse as Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Brasilia, Budapest, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington. These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives, with little tolerance for minorities, dissent or the interests of foreigners. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiments of their nations.
By: Gideon Rachman
-
The Dawn of Everything
- A New History of Humanity
- By: David Graeber, David Wengrow
- Narrated by: Mark Williams
- Length: 24 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,498
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,296
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,285
A trailblazing account of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution - from the development of agriculture and cities to the emergence of "the state", political violence, and social inequality - and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
exactly what I've been looking for
- By DankTurtle on 11-10-21
By: David Graeber, and others
-
What It Took to Win
- A History of the Democratic Party
- By: Michael Kazin
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
In What It Took to Win, the eminent historian Michael Kazin identifies and assesses the Democratic Party's long-running commitment to creating "moral capitalism" - a system that mixed entrepreneurial freedom with the welfare of workers and consumers. And yet the same party that championed the rights of the white working man also vigorously protected or advanced the causes of slavery, segregation, and Indian removal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Timely and informative History Book
- By Asha Sceanca on 03-24-22
By: Michael Kazin
-
Why We Fight
- The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace
- By: Christopher Blattman
- Narrated by: Landon Woodson
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
It’s easy to overlook the underlying strategic forces of war, to see it solely as a series of errors, accidents, and emotions gone awry. It’s also easy to forget that war shouldn’t happen—and most of the time it doesn’t. Around the world, there are millions of hostile rivalries, yet only a tiny fraction erupt into violence. Too many accounts of conflict forget this. With a counterintuitive approach, Blattman reminds us that most rivals loathe one another in peace. That’s because war is too costly to fight.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By PYS on 05-07-22
-
Why Nations Fail
- The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
- By: Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,860
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,213
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,202
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Important themes, with blind spots
- By Ryan on 09-01-12
By: Daron Acemoglu, and others
-
Against the Grain
- A Deep History of the Earliest States
- By: James C. Scott
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 569
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 565
Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As a complete layman, this is very good
- By Donald Carroll on 09-13-18
By: James C. Scott
-
The Sovereign Individual
- Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
- By: James Dale Davidson, Peter Thiel - preface, William Rees-Mogg
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 19 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,057
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 857
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 851
Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the best seller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century. The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Unfortunately distopian for mosty of humanity
- By Phil on 09-29-20
By: James Dale Davidson, and others
Publisher's Summary
Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer - democratic practices were present in many places at many other times. David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished - and when and why they declined - can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future.
Drawing from examples spanning several millennia, Stasavage first considers why states developed either democratic or autocratic styles of governance and argues that early democracy tended to develop in small places with a weak state and, counterintuitively, simple technologies. When central state institutions (such as a tax bureaucracy) were absent - as in medieval Europe - rulers needed consent from their populace to govern. When central institutions were strong - as in China or the Middle East - consent was less necessary and autocracy more likely. He then explores the transition from early to modern democracy, which first took shape in England and then the United States, illustrating that modern democracy arose as an effort to combine popular control with a strong state over a large territory.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Decline and Rise of Democracy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank
- 12-22-20
Informative
The book is very informative, but seems to be unnecessarily long. I enjoyed learning about the proto-democracies, especially those in pre-columbian Americas. I also learned that I've been calling the Domesday Book by the wrong name.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Broken Luck
- 07-19-21
No Substitute for the Book
Fails to convey the vitality of scholarship in the book. The narratiion emphasizes the idea of liberalism with such force ("leader" is read throughout with an air of disdain) that the author's meaning gets overlooked.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Michael K
- 06-18-21
Not what I expected
This is not a history of the idea and practice of democracy. It is a very, very overly detailed correlation between the presence of various civilizing factors (farming, soil type, presence of writing, taxation) and what the author describes are early democracy. The latter is simply when citizens have some say about how they are governed, whether that be just being able to voice concerns to a "king" or similar leader. So it is really not about democracy per se. Unfortunately the author never really analyzes exactly what he means by democracy is any satisfying way.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 06-01-21
History of the world
The audiobook was mainly focused on the history of the world and facts that have occurred than on the rise and fall of democracies, but it was still educational.
