Walter Scheidel

Context:

Discussed in considerable detail as a book whose entire thesis is built on counterfactual reasoning. Scheidel argues that the industrial revolution required the collapse of the Roman Empire because that collapse generated a fragmented Europe whose competition enabled industrialization. The book systematically works through counterfactuals — showing that Philip II, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Hitler, and even the Mongols could never have imposed a unitary empire on Europe. Dominic says he is 'definitely going to read that book,' and Tom praises Scheidel as a 'brilliant historian.'