book again?” Unfortunately, The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson is not a book where you will likely reread it, instead you will be saying “Is it finally over?” Ferguson explains how money came to be in our society by starting off with the first use of currency to the end where money has become something we cannot even touch. As a person who is not interested in the history of money, but interested in my net worth going up, I believe The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson did a mediocre job on attempting
In The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson argues that the progress of money is essential to the progress of man. More importantly, he argues that understanding the history of finance provides some insights into making better financial decisions. Although Ferguson’s book is not an introduction to finance, it contains some well-supported arguments with historical lessons and insights of world finance. Ferguson’s book has many strengths and a few weaknesses. One of the strengths of the book is the organization
Niall Ferguson clearly illustrates several economic principles and findings that are also illustrated in our Macroeconomics class. These concepts are seen in Episodes 5 and 6 of The Ascent of Money of money series. “Safe as Houses” and “A Financial History of The World” are both episodes that Ferguson uses to emphasize concepts that are also seen in our Macroeconomics. Some of the concepts that are seen in these episodes are property ownership and the finances that come with the ownership of property
civilizations that dealt with money. Many argue that money does not buy you happiness however then explain how money dictates the lives we live. Money has a large effect in our lives but we do not realize this until we grow up and become aware of this ourselves. Nevertheless, how was debt created that we would owe an amount of money due to us borrowing it and using it for our personal pleasure? Without going in the topic of debt and money too much, we were taught at a young age how money has created a mass
banking ideas can be linked to money and how money has changed the power of people and countries. It can be proven throughout the history of that money, power, and banks are directly related. The banks and money relate to power because the more economic strength a country has the more they can do military wise. It can also be proved over time that money and power create issues that can be counterproductive to society. In Niall Ferguson’s book, The Ascent of Money, Ferguson connects the conquering of
In The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson gives an in-depth historical look at money and finance. He begins with ancient banking practices in ancient Mesopotamia, and finishes his book with his predictions for the near future based on patterns that he sees. In the book he discusses the rise of money and credit; the bond market; the stock market; insurance; real estate; and international finance. Niall Fergusson believes that finance and money was made as a necessity for urbanization and development
who control the well-being of the economy (pg.182). It was ultimately positive thinking contaminated the financial system. This idea of being optimistic in everyday life has carried over into the economies, which has caused individuals to spend more money than they are saving. As a result, this action “builds up credit card debt on expenditures” (pg. 182). As the debts become larger, they become more difficult to pay off. However, it was something that wasn’t of concern to individuals at the time, due
being created at an astounding rate, consumption from consumers skyrocketed, further increasing the income of the wealthy factory owners (History.com Staff 8). This class lived luxuriously, erecting museums, mansions, and other lavish structures (Ferguson 285). Furthermore, the wealthy, with a greater number of mass-produced goods, also had great material wealth. These factors contributed to the first major growth of a social class in the Industrial Revolution, the upper class. Another class that
congressional committees requesting the banks have more capital than one who can assume the losses. The larger the bank should be more regulations on their capitals (New York Times, July 27, 2009, Editorial). However, the laws do not fully protect public money from the externalities of risk created by the banks. In a majority of cases, bank failures, term assumes the people who pay their taxes. In assessing the effects of size and risk factors, Taleb / Tapiero [2009] choose a significant example of firms
Introduction The Renaissance was the tumultuous rebirth of European literature and art. It started in Florence and was ‘funded by the Medici’ (The Ascent to Money 2009) family. This is particularly significant as Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was born into the nobility in the Republic of Florence on 3rd May 1469. He was educated in Latin and then studied at the University of Florence. This fuelled his interest in political theory and so the Medici. During his childhood, Lorenzo de Medici