Dutch Rise and Fall, American Rise and Fall--Part 1

Why is the rise and the decline of the USA so much like the rise and the decline of the Dutch Republic in the 1600s? The 1900s will probably always be remembered by historians as the American Century. But the 1600s was the Dutch Century. Both of these nations had their exceptional rises, their amazing zeniths, and then their declines. But historians have noticed that the details and particulars of both the rise and the decline phases are eerily similar. The symptoms of decline that we're experiencing right now--rising inequality, stagnant wages, polarization, elite infighting--are only "new" to us if we don't study history. But if we do study the trends, maybe learn more about the cycle we're stuck in.

This episode is about the rise of the sunnier more optimistic rising periods of both the Dutch and the American Century. The next episode will be about the darker phase: the decline.