#675 - Niall Ferguson - The Shocking Lessons Of History Everyone Has Forgotten
Modern Wisdom
The Transformative Journey of Scotland: From Afghanistan to Athens
Imagine if all ancient learning had been lost. This is a counterfactual that makes us appreciate the importance of preserving knowledge. Without the ancient Athenian and Roman texts, there would have been no Renaissance and Western civilization as we know it would be unimaginable. However, history has shown that transformation is possible. For example, in the 17th century, Scotland resembled Afghanistan with warring mountain tribes and extreme Calvinists. But within a few decades, it underwent a mysterious process of enlightenment, becoming a center of intellectual innovation. This raises the intriguing question: can a place like Afghanistan transform itself into a hub of intellectual and economic progress, just like Scotland did?
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