The Bactra Review The First
Moderns
That probably sounds absurd, but actually a very sensible case can be made for
it. See Mark Elvin, The Pattern of the Chinese Past: A Social and
Economic Interpretation (Palo Alto, California: Stanford University
Press, 1975), and especially William H. McNeill, The Pursuit of Power:
Technology, Armed Force and Society since A.D. 1000 (University of
Chicago Press, 1982).