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Viktor Shvets
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The Great Rupture: Three Empires, Four Turning Points, and the Future of Humanity Hardcover – June 24, 2020

by Viktor Shvets (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 208 ratings
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Do we need to be free to be innovative, prosperous, or even happy?


The lessons of the last five centuries were unequivocal-without freedom, there could be no prosperity or happiness. However, does this still hold true in the Information Age?


Modern technologies are disrupting our societies, altering every facet of our lives, from the nature of work and what we intrinsically value, to how we are informed, entertained, and educated-it promises to be a far deeper disruption than Industrial Revolutions. Humanity is at a major turning point, and how we respond to the merger of technology and financialization will decide our future. Will it be capitalism or communism, feudalism or despotism?


By learning from the past and projecting into the future, global market strategist Viktor Shvets explores the weakening nexus between freedom and prosperity and what that means for the future of humanity. From the birth of our modern world, pivotal events in human history have led to the collapse of non-Western civilizations-Mongol warriors sweeping across Eurasian steppes; the Black Death and a re-awakening of human spirit; Zheng He's voyages and the collapse of Novgorod republic; and finally, the ban on printing in Arabic. What can we learn from these events to better prepare ourselves for the future?


As we hurtle toward that uncertain future, we must decide whether our cherished individual freedoms are still necessary for success and prosperity, or if in adapting to new technologies, non-Western civilizations are now better positioned for this new world, creating illiberal orders that might no longer suffer from stagnation of ideas. For the first time in at least five centuries, we have an opportunity and tools to build a different society and economy. Will we embrace the challenge?

Previous page
  1. Print length
    294 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Boyle & Dalton
  4. Publication date
    June 24, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    8 x 0.69 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1633374106
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1633374102
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Some analysts have great perception and others have a unique perspective, but Viktor Shvets is almost unique in having both. How the past shapes the future is the topic of this book. Viktor reaches very non-consensus opinions that will shock modern sensibilities. You can't afford not to read it.

--Russell Napier, Independent Investment Strategist and Author of Anatomy Of The Bear: Lessons From Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boyle & Dalton (June 24, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1633374106
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1633374102
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.83 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.69 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 208 ratings

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Viktor Shvets

Viktor Shvets

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
208 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Steven Neeley
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Everyone should read this book. Its scope is impressive, weaving together both history and economics. The author’s explanation for why the West came out on top is unique and, in my view, far more complete than that of social scientists such as Jared Diamond, who tend to focus only on externalities. What’s more, Mr. Schvets’ conclusion about where society is heading is startling while his prescriptions are well reasoned, thought provoking, and will likely be viewed by many as controversial.

Despite being a finance professional myself, I had never heard of Mr. Schvets until I listened to him on an Odd Lots podcast on the topic of inflation earlier this year. Immediately I remember thinking, “Wow. This guy has something different to say.” Group think tends to be pervasive amongst market strategists, and virtually none of them offers any actionable or truly unique insights. Viktor Schvets, however, is cut from a different cloth.

One other point I’d add is that the book contains an expansive list of sources, many of which come from different academic disciplines. This comes through in the author’s comprehensive view of the subject matter. And as an added benefit, the reader gets access to a great bibliography from which to dig deeper into some of these topics.
11 people found this helpful
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Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly new perspective on an old debate
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2021
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This is the first truly fresh perspective i've come across from all the macro interviews and readings i've been exposed to. The old debate of liberal vs libertarian vs conservative is looked at through a very novel lens of rapid technological advancement and excessive financialization of the economy. Hinging in part on the idea that humans are becoming less and less relevant in the equation of economic productivity. As well as being contextualized historically in a very comprehensive manner. The most die hard libertarian may have to start thinking in new ways about universal basic income after reading this book. Not as a result of some recycled liberal compassion-themed argument, but as a result of some really nuanced, novel and insightful observations regarding the aforementioned topics. Some dots that many probably have not even tried to connect prior to reading this book.
One person found this helpful
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Mark Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars intelligent, thoughtful, an important book
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2023
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Viktor Shvets is a rare bread, a heavy weight academic who has had an impressive commercial career. This gives him a real world perspective which conveys realism and a firm grasp of how things really work as opposed to abstract theory. It’s an important book and summarises the current challenges we face as a civilisation as well as anything I have read in recent times.
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Randall Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars A Tour de Force of History, Sociology, and Economics
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2021
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This is a stunning book about the human journey filtered through the prism of how historic events have shaped human development in sociology and in economics. Importantly, how these three factors work together. Using this, some degree of extrapolation is done to look into the future at potential paths.

The depth of knowledge in this book reminds me to a degree of Bronowski's "Ascent of Man" only with a greater focus on sociology and economics instead of technology and limited to the middle ages forward.
2 people found this helpful
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James A. Fok
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive in its breadth and erudition
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2022
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The author has crafted a deeply insightful narrative about the current twin challenges of excessive debt dependence and technological displacement by reviewing key turning historical turning points that drove the outcomes for several major empires. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to better understand the world.
One person found this helpful
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Mike E
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking book
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
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I heard about this book from an interview that the author did on the podcast “Macro Voices.” I was amazed at the historical knowledge Viktor Shvets had with respect to the culture of China, the Ottoman Empire, and the West. This book is a must read for those wanting insights into how our investing and political world is changing due to the information age and the exploding financialization of debt and markets.
3 people found this helpful
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Adem T
5.0 out of 5 stars The most important history book of the year
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
An absolute must read for historians - esp. those that focus on the 1200-2000’s and the macro-view of history.

The author does a brilliant job showing the contrasts between the Western world (Spain, England, France, Italy, etc) and Eastern world (China, Russia, Ottoman Empire) and how after the Age of Discovery the Eastern empires steadily regressed (eventually imploding) while the West significantly grew

One of the best books I’ve read in a while.

**For readers that enjoyed this book - I recommend 2 other similar + exceptional books:
1. The Great Wave by David Hacket Fischer
2. Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu
11 people found this helpful
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Mark D
5.0 out of 5 stars A magisterial view of human history that points to a challenging future for humanity...
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
A fascinating read. The Great Rupture combines compelling economic, social and political history in a successful attempt to demonstrate that, in turning points in World History, our leaders do not always make the right decision. Viktor Shvets draws upon his immense learning to demonstrate why the challenges of the 21st Century represent a significant turning point, and why it is not obvious that the choices in front of us lead to a happy future for the bulk of humankind. Ignoring the labels of democracy vs autocracy vs communism; he paints a nuanced views of these choices and leads to a surprising conclusion...
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Book
Reviewed in Canada on May 31, 2022
Verified Purchase
I like the perspective of the author and how he lays out a relatively complicated subject within a framework that is easy to follow and think about. This book makes you think about bigger things. Things about how world works. Who makes decisions that impacts generations.
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Increíble lectura
Reviewed in Spain on December 31, 2022
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Totalmente recomendado. Eso sí, el formato es bastante molesto de manejar (libro muy grande)
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Vítor de Holanda Jó
5.0 out of 5 stars Come on, you must read this book...
Reviewed in Brazil on September 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
It is a must-read book. I took it with high expectations, but it seems now that my expectations were not high enough: the book surprised me. It has a lot of details, analysis, good references, and a spectacular manner to talk about things such as the Black Death, Ancient China, business cycles, finance, ethics, and the future of mankind. The references, as I said, are another dimension of good sources. Shvets' analysis is complete, dense, and robust. He is really able to talk about everything here, and he does it in a very attractive manner. Also, the book arrives on a great occasion.
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Pierfrancesco Di Giuseppe
2.0 out of 5 stars Nessun nuovo argomento, non val la pena acquistarlo
Reviewed in Italy on September 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Nulla di particolare, soliti temi trattati da altri autori circa possibile declino Occidente. Apprezzabile da chi interessato a storia Russia e Cina che vengono approfondite meglio che in altri testi.
Altrimenti non comsiglio acquisto.
One person found this helpful
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Angus Lam
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly well-written book. Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book does an excellent job of using history to illuminate the future while skilfully integrating technology, politics, and finance. Some might find the outlook somewhat disturbing and even threatening, but the argument and analysis are fascinating and mind-blowing. It is clearly shaped by the author’s early life experiences of living under the communism and then many years of exposure to western democratic cultures.

I could not put the book down. The good news is, at the core, the author believes that we still have a chance. The book is highly thought-provoking and leads one to think hard about our future.
2 people found this helpful
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