John Rapley

Why did Rome fall - and what can it teach us about the decline of the West today? A historian and a political economist investigate. Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium, history reversed. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself...

Why Empires Fall poses a fundamental question: Why did Rome fall, and what lessons can it teach us about the decline of the West today? In this insightful exploration, a historian and a political economist delve into these pressing topics. Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium,...

Every leader comes to power promising growth: think back to the campaigns of Boris, Truss, Sunak, Starmer, Trump. Yet real-term income hasn't improved in the UK since 2008. Across the West, growth has stagnated for well over a decade, leading to cost of living crises, political instability, and rising social tensions. Is real economic growth still possible? And with the...