j.torres

This is actually Owen Wilson lecturing (wedding crashers)

Revisado: 05-25-18

Good lectures and flow. The guy is a great story teller, which obviously helps. The only parts I took issue with were his own contradictory views of Christianity. First he states Christianity is, at its core, a militant conquering religion. Then he shows that all the great humanitarian efforts toward the Indians were driven by hardcore Christian monks and priest who hated Spanish treatment of the Indians. Was Also was pretty light on all the brutal treatment of Indians to there own. Slavery, human sacrifice and a rigid caste system we’re all in full force before European contact. Not to mention a virtual absence of material development for the common Indian, Which he does a good job showing. The tone is just very anti-European, which isn’t surprising. Just wish we could acknowledge the obvious benefits of western culture. The whole disease narrative is not the fault of the West anymore than the bubonic plague is the fault of trading with African and Arab merchants. But again, great series and worth listening too.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 28 personas

Too much anti-European bias

Revisado: 11-04-16

What would have made An Economic History of the World since 1400 better?

You really can't talk about economic history without giving a large amount of credit to the Western powers. I understand the intellectual climate of our age is heavily anti-European. It can be found in almost all "the Great Courses" to some extent, but this lecture is simply relentless. He paints the Islamic and Asian worlds as virtual gardens of Eden, with no real explanation of how or why the west, (if it really was a "backwater") emerged as the worlds economic powerhouse. I don't want to be too "pro-west" either, but a little balance is desperately needed. I don't think there was one sentence uttered criticizing the Islamic or Asian world for many of their developmental faults(and there are many!), which is just another sign of the bias which permeates our culture as a whole. For a real economic history of the world and it's major thought developments see "An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought" by the late Murray Rothbard. It's insightful, more balanced and from an actual economist.

What didn’t you like about Professor Donald J. Harreld’s performance?

He is a very smart man, but more of a historian who knows a few economic terms. This would be great from an economist who understands history. The narrative tends to be dry, sounds like he's just reading from a book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 12 personas