The Making of the Modern World: Visions from the West and East

by Alan Macfarlane

At the start of the third Christian millennium we are aware of massive political, economic and ideological changes which condition the chances of liberty, wealth and equality. Yet it is surprisingly difficult for us to understand these forces, for we cannot see what surrounds us so closely. This book analyses our condition by looking at the work of two great thinkers, one of whom provides a deep historical perspective, the other a wide comparative analysis. F.W. Maitland (1850-1906) was more than the greatest professional historian of modern times, he was a philosopher who provides a brilliant sketch of how our strange world has come about, particularly in his work on associations and trusts. Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) more than any other created the institutions of modern Japan. As an outsider he provides a brilliant insight into the heart of the new capitalist and industrial civilization which had emerged in the west.

332 pages, Hardcover

First published December 17, 2001

About the author

Alan Macfarlane was born in Shillong, India, in 1941 and educated at the Dragon School, Sedbergh School, Oxford and London Universities. He is the author of over twenty books, including The Origins of English Individualism (1978) and Letters to Lily: On How the World Works (2005). He has worked in England, Nepal, Japan and China as both an historian and anthropologist. He was elected to the British Academy in 1986 and is now Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge.