Great Divergence  

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 +"A second group of arguments—evident in somewhat different ways in the work of [[Fernand Braudel]], [[Immanuel Wallerstein]], and [[K. N. Chaudhuri]], and in a very different way in that of [[Douglass North]]—pays less attention to ''levels'' of wealth." --''[[The Great Divergence]]''
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{{Template}} {{Template}}
-:''[[The European Miracle]]'' 
-The '''Great Divergence''', coined by [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel Huntington]] (also known as the '''European miracle''', a term coined by [[Eric Jones (economic historian)|Eric Jones]] in 1981), refers to the process by which the [[Western world]] (i.e. [[Western Europe]] and the parts of the [[New World]] where its people became the dominant populations) during the [[Modern period]] (16th to 19th centuries) clearly emerged as the most powerful world [[civilization]], eclipsing the [[Islamic empire]]s (the [[Ottoman Empire]], [[Mughal Empire|Mughal India]]), [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa Japan]], and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing China]]. 
-The process was accompanied and reinforced by the [[Age of Discovery]] and the subsequent rise of the [[colonial empires]], the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the [[Commercial Revolution]], the [[Scientific Revolution]] and finally the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The Great Divergence was affected by several factors, including technology, industrialization and economics, politics and leadership, and specific ideologies. 
-Technological advances in [[railroads]], [[steamboats]], [[mining]], and [[agriculture]] were embraced to a higher degree in the West than the East during the Great Divergence. High wages in the West caused businesses to focus efforts on engineering labor-saving machinery, while the East continued to rely on their sources of cheap labor. Shifts in government policy from interventionist mercantilism to laissez faire helped western development, while a shift from traditional confucianism to interventionist policies under the [[Qing Dynasty]] greatly restricted Chinese industrial development. Technology led to increased industrialization and economic complexity in the areas of agriculture, trade, fuel and resources, further separating the East and the West. Europe’s industrial advantages allowed it to surpass the East. Europe's use of [[coal]] as an energy substitute for wood in the mid-1800s gave Europe a major head start in modern energy production. On the other hand, China did not begin to use coal in large-scale industry until the 20th century. The West also had the advantage of larger quantities of [[raw materials]] and a substantial trading market. China and Asia did participate in trading, however [[colonization]] brought a distinct advantage to the West.+The '''Great Divergence''' is a term made popular by [[Kenneth Pomeranz]]'s book by that title, (also known as the '''European miracle''', a term coined by [[Eric Jones (economic historian)|Eric Jones]] in 1981) referring to the process by which the [[Western world]] (i.e. [[Western Europe]] and the parts of the [[New World]] where its people became the dominant populations) overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world [[civilization]], eclipsing [[Medieval India]], [[Qing China]], the [[Islamic World]], [[Joseon Korea]], and [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa Japan]].
 + 
 +Scholars have proposed a wide variety of theories to explain why the Great Divergence happened, including geography, culture, institutions, [[colonialism]], resources, and "accidents of history". Scholars also trace back the beginning of the Great Divergence to different periods, with many tracing it back to the [[Industrial Revolution]] in 18th-century Britain, while others trace it back to earlier periods of Western history, such as the [[commercial revolution]] and the origins of [[mercantilism]] and [[capitalism]] during the [[Renaissance]] and the [[Age of Discovery]], the rise of the European [[colonial empires]], [[proto-globalization]], the [[Scientific Revolution]], or the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. The "traditional view", sometimes described as a near-[[Scientific consensus|consensus]] view, is that the Great Divergence occurred before the Industrial Revolution, with Western European states surpassing China, Japan and the Middle East by 1750. However, the "revisionist" view of the "California School" estimates that the divergence started around 1800 during the Industrial Revolution. In the twentieth century, the Great Divergence peaked before the First World War and continued until the early 1970s, then, after two decades of indeterminate fluctuations, in the late 1980s it was replaced by the Great Convergence as the majority of Third World countries reached economic growth rates significantly higher than those in most First World countries.
 + 
 +Technological advances, in areas such as [[railroads]], [[steamboats]], [[mining]], and [[agriculture]], were embraced to a higher degree in the West than the East during the Great Divergence. Technology led to increased industrialization and economic complexity in the areas of agriculture, trade, fuel and resources, further separating the East and the West. Western Europe's use of [[coal]] as an energy substitute for wood in the mid-19th century gave it a major head start in modern energy production.
 + 
 +==See also==
 +* [[Colonial empire]]
 +* [[Western empires]]
 +* [[Modern history]]
 +* [[History of Western civilization]]
 +* [[Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution]]
 +* [[Economic history of China (pre-1911)]]
 +* [[Joseph Needham]]
 +* [[Eurocentrism]]
-Politics and leadership, a staple in almost every country at the time of the Great Divergence, were influenced and executed in distinct manners in both the East and the West. Political ideas and lack thereof warranted either progression into the modern world, regression, or no change at all. Strong countries like [[Great Britain]] set the model for representative governments in the West. On the other hand, [[Japan]], with its retention of traditional values and incorporation of western views was a model for countries in the East. Other countries of interest include [[France]], [[Spain]], [[China]], and the [[Netherlands]].+===Books===
-The most important ideologies include [[Laissez-faire]], [[mercantilism]], [[Confucianism]], and [[materialism]]. Ideologies influenced government policies and social altitudes. [[Laissez-faire]], an economic ideology, was created during the [[Industrial Revolution]] as a belief that trade and economics should exist without government interference. [[Materialism]] illustrated a shift towards secular thinking. [[Confucianism]], dominant in China for millenia, stressed that every class of society should behave in accordance with moral standards and rules and was largely opposed to state interference. [[Mercantilism]], an ideology dominant before the rise of classical liberalism, which promoted interventionist policies such as [[protectionism]], [[state monopolies]], and high taxes which allegedly brought economic benefits.+* ''[[A Farewell to Alms]]''
 +* ''[[Roy Bin Wong#Before and Beyond Divergence|Before and Beyond Divergence]]
 +* ''[[The Clash of Civilizations]]''
 +* ''[[Niall Ferguson#Civilization|Civilization: The West and the Rest]]''
 +* ''[[The Civilizing Process]]''
 +* ''[[The European Miracle]]''
 +* ''[[Leonid Grinin#Great Divergence and Great Convergence|Great Divergence and Great Convergence]]''
 +* ''[[Kenneth Pomeranz#The Great divergence: China, Europe, and the making of the modern world economy|The Great divergence: China, Europe, and the making of the modern world economy]]
 +* ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel]]''
 +* ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers]]''
 +* ''[[The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community]]''
 +* ''[[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations]]''
 +* ''[[Why the West Rules—For Now]]''
 +* ''[[The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation]]''
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

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"A second group of arguments—evident in somewhat different ways in the work of Fernand Braudel, Immanuel Wallerstein, and K. N. Chaudhuri, and in a very different way in that of Douglass North—pays less attention to levels of wealth." --The Great Divergence

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The Great Divergence is a term made popular by Kenneth Pomeranz's book by that title, (also known as the European miracle, a term coined by Eric Jones in 1981) referring to the process by which the Western world (i.e. Western Europe and the parts of the New World where its people became the dominant populations) overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world civilization, eclipsing Medieval India, Qing China, the Islamic World, Joseon Korea, and Tokugawa Japan.

Scholars have proposed a wide variety of theories to explain why the Great Divergence happened, including geography, culture, institutions, colonialism, resources, and "accidents of history". Scholars also trace back the beginning of the Great Divergence to different periods, with many tracing it back to the Industrial Revolution in 18th-century Britain, while others trace it back to earlier periods of Western history, such as the commercial revolution and the origins of mercantilism and capitalism during the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the rise of the European colonial empires, proto-globalization, the Scientific Revolution, or the Age of Enlightenment. The "traditional view", sometimes described as a near-consensus view, is that the Great Divergence occurred before the Industrial Revolution, with Western European states surpassing China, Japan and the Middle East by 1750. However, the "revisionist" view of the "California School" estimates that the divergence started around 1800 during the Industrial Revolution. In the twentieth century, the Great Divergence peaked before the First World War and continued until the early 1970s, then, after two decades of indeterminate fluctuations, in the late 1980s it was replaced by the Great Convergence as the majority of Third World countries reached economic growth rates significantly higher than those in most First World countries.

Technological advances, in areas such as railroads, steamboats, mining, and agriculture, were embraced to a higher degree in the West than the East during the Great Divergence. Technology led to increased industrialization and economic complexity in the areas of agriculture, trade, fuel and resources, further separating the East and the West. Western Europe's use of coal as an energy substitute for wood in the mid-19th century gave it a major head start in modern energy production.

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