How did the West become so powerful?

Western Exceptionalism—the idea that European civilizations are freer, wealthier, and less violent—lies beneath a vast array of world events and political activities. It has been a source of peace and prosperity in some societies, and ethnic cleansing and havoc in others. It has also been the subject of more than a hundred years of academic debate.

The fundamental question—why are Western societies better off?—has given rise to many theories, including some of the most dangerous and racist ones in the world. In this book, political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita lays waste to these treacherous ideas, and explains the consolidation of power in the West through a single, little noticed event: the 1122 Concordat of Worms.

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