The Square and the Tower

Outline

The Square and the Tower (2017) retells history as a struggle between two kinds of power: networks, symbolised by the town square where people meet freely, and hierarchies, symbolised by the tower of rulers. Niall Ferguson shows how informal networks of traders, thinkers, and revolutionaries have repeatedly challenged established authorities, and explains what this means in today’s world of social media and global connections.

• History can be read as a struggle between two kinds of power: open networks and top-down hierarchies.
• The town square stands for networks where people meet freely, while the tower stands for the authority of rulers.
• Informal networks of traders, thinkers and revolutionaries have repeatedly challenged established authorities across history.
• Real power often flows outside official institutions, through connections that formal structures do not fully control.
• Social media and global connections make this old contest between networks and hierarchies more relevant today.

Niall Ferguson is a British historian and author and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He has taught at Oxford, Harvard, and other leading universities and has written widely on financial, economic, and political history. His books include The Ascent of Money, Civilisation, Empire, and The Square and the Tower.