Chapter 6, Work (Work Ethics and Word Ethics, Get your Kicks, The Chinese Jerusalem, Lands of Unbelief, The End of Days?) Summary and Analysis

Ferguson begins Chapter 6 by reviewing briefly the rise of the West and its associated institutions and how the rest of the world copies them. But a question has been raised as to whether the West will remain a great civilization or whether it is moving into a period of decline. A number of factors that brought down the Roman Empire are present today, especially economic troubles and new competitors. But the Roman Empire, Gibbon argued at least, was brought down by Christianity, whereas the West thrived because of it, especially due to its Protestant variant, promoting the ethic of hard work and thrift...