William Bernstein’s “A Splendid Exchange” is a sweeping narrative discussing the history of trade across the world. The book goes on to look at the future insights of the trade while taking into account the current globalization which causing havoc across the world. This book reminds people that the desire to trade is one of human’s oldest instincts and it is believed to have contributed to immense development. According to Adam Smith, considered the father of modern economics, the propensity to barter, exchange and truck products and services is common to all people, and it cannot be found in other animals. In this book, Mr. Bernstein shows how the trade instinct has evolved over time while shaping the world in the course of its evolution.
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Here, the author of this book says that trade began as a result of people’s need to acquire things they needed but did not produce them through exchanging them with the ones they did produce in surplus. This is a clear indication that trade emerged as a result of people’s need for those products they did not have. He goes on to reflect how trade has since then affected people’s lives, highlighting the plight of those who benefited from it and those who ended up as victims. …show more content…
This is exhibited by the first chapter which states that trade began as a result of agriculture. Here, Bernstein takes us back to the Sumerian farmers who used their surplus agricultural products to acquire goods they did not produce. Bernstein goes on to inform readers of the Athenian trade routes and the Peloponnesian war. The second part of the book mainly focuses on the transatlantic trade and the factors that contributed to its growth and development. Here, Bernstein takes readers on a journey covering this trade. Here, he informs us of the horrors of the slave trade, the rise of and fall of cities such as Genoa and Venice and the people who facilitated the trade such as Vasco Da Gama. Furthermore, Bernstein informs us of the diseases that spread across the world as a result of trade such as the black plague. The final part of the book discusses the technological advancements that were facilitated by trade such as emergence of refrigerated shipping. In this section, Bernstein discusses the introduction of corporations, the benefits and problems of the free trade and the rise of better means of
Here, the author of this book says that trade began as a result of people’s need to acquire things they needed but did not produce them through exchanging them with the ones they did produce in surplus. This is a clear indication that trade emerged as a result of people’s need for those products they did not have. He goes on to reflect how trade has since then affected people’s lives, highlighting the plight of those who benefited from it and those who ended up as victims. …show more content…
This is exhibited by the first chapter which states that trade began as a result of agriculture. Here, Bernstein takes us back to the Sumerian farmers who used their surplus agricultural products to acquire goods they did not produce. Bernstein goes on to inform readers of the Athenian trade routes and the Peloponnesian war. The second part of the book mainly focuses on the transatlantic trade and the factors that contributed to its growth and development. Here, Bernstein takes readers on a journey covering this trade. Here, he informs us of the horrors of the slave trade, the rise of and fall of cities such as Genoa and Venice and the people who facilitated the trade such as Vasco Da Gama. Furthermore, Bernstein informs us of the diseases that spread across the world as a result of trade such as the black plague. The final part of the book discusses the technological advancements that were facilitated by trade such as emergence of refrigerated shipping. In this section, Bernstein discusses the introduction of corporations, the benefits and problems of the free trade and the rise of better means of