Business and Polity
Dynamics of a Changing Relationship
- D. N. Ghosh - ICRA, Kolkata
The rational and logical approach taken by the author reveals the links that our modern state of affairs has with the experience of past civilizations-knowledge that can potentially enhance our ability to make informed decisions to shape the global future. Though the content is academic and interdisciplinary in scope and nature, its lucid presentation will appeal to a wide range of readers who are interested in geopolitical issues and economic, political and business history.
This is an in-depth and comprehensive study of the nature and evolution of the close relationship between business and polity over the last two millenniums and a half. Ghosh`s lucid and fascinating account…provides an important perspective in understanding the on-going interaction of business operations and government policies at both the national and the global level.
This book is a tour de force. In a lucid engaging treatise, Dhruba Ghosh explores the nexus between business and politics, intertwined in history over a period that spans millenniums…to …highlight how the evolution of business-politics dynamics exercised an enormous influence on outcomes in economy and society… If anything, the essential hypothesis is even more relevant in our lives and times…
This book is unique in many ways… [A]n excursion to explore how the world has evolved through different epochs of history. I strongly recommend this book to all those who are interested in our country`s future…
Bearing the unmistakable imprint of wide reading and deep reflection, Business and Polity is a virtual tour de force of the world history from the ancient times to the present. Ghosh’s purpose in doing so is to demonstrate that business and polity have always had an impact on each every time and every clime. While business is concerned with wealth generating activity, polity refers to levers of political power…[The book] is a series of feedbacks, enriching our understanding of the nexus between the two power networks, Ghosh’s narrative, nevertheless, suggests a pattern that no reader can miss, even as none can miss the erudition informing his analysis.
This book explains how each nation rose to global hegemony and then lost that position, covering a history of 2,500 years. A unique analysis targeted at political scientists and economic historians and policymakers across the world, it talks about the Grand Prix of nations, which plays out eternally, in financial markets and military theatres, depending upon each nation’s polity and business… [The author] has done a superb job of explaining the reasons why nations rise to, or ebb from, power…. In terms of genre and content, it is rare and insightful.
The book clearly brings out the symbiotic relationship between business and polity. The way these two forces have interacted has shaped the fortunes of empires/states. The author impresses with the sheer coverage through centuries. The book is enriching in terms of the insight it gives into economic history.
Over 400 pages and 1,20,000 words in length, this book may appear long, but its canvas is so vast that it races through centuries and continents at breakneck speed. The reader will learn many obscure and interesting things from it… In case he wants to quench his thirst for more knowledge, he has a bibliography of 600 works to help him… this book is the best introduction to a fascinating subject.
With the hindsight of contemporary developments in the overlapping areas of political and business sectors, Ghosh is able to explain the shifting nature of this relationship. No doubt this book is of academic mould, but those who are generally interested in the history of politics and business would find it informative.
Ghosh’s performance is praiseworthy. His work is a concise, carefully focused and elegantly presented economic history of the world—no mean task… I hope that many readers will find the book as interesting and helpful as I did.
