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The book is divided into two sections. The first half provides a historiography of the literature on state formation from antiquity to the present day. In the second, Gordon identifies a new theme using the methodologies of economic history, the history of economic thought, and the history of ideas. His interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that the process of state formation is best understood through the prism of science, economy, and culture.

The narrative highlights significant events and institutions as markers of change in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern era. The core of the book focuses on England’s economic culture and its impact on state management. University elites in science and Aristotle’s philosophy educated literate and numerate professionals for the Royal court. They became indispensable for the ever-growing complexity of governing. England was unique because it embraced statistical thinking and quantitative reasoning at the heart of the English State.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gordon Holmes was born and raised in Hamilton, Canada. He attended McMaster University, where he earned graduate degrees in three faculties. He worked in both the public and private sectors before his career in teaching at post-secondary institutions. Gordon is currently retired and lives in northern Ontario with his wife Amor.

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The title of this book is Economic Interpretations of State Formation and Its Management to 1850. The interdisciplinary approach includes themes of economic culture, the history of economic thought, and economic history. The literature on this topic is vast because previous researchers applied other approaches. Research here shows that the joint influence of science, economic culture, and an ethos for numerical measurement played a significant role in state formation over the centuries. The rise of statistical thinking was essential for the process of Britain’s state formation. The role of quantitative reasoning in formulating economic policies was examined in detail. Pat Hudson’s guide is adopted to distinguish between descriptive and inferential statistics. The former summarizes and describes patterns revealed by databases that generate empirical information. The discovered associations allow for tentative claims about the relationship between variables. Inferential statistics, on the other hand, can be a powerful analytical tool because it organizes historical databases into statistical knowledge.

This book addressed all the questions asked in the Preface. It examines the intentions of historical actors, their process of decision-making, and those actions taken based on advances in statistical thinking and quantitative reasoning. It is not a simple genealogical construct but an effort to present a complete description and comprehensive explanation of this phenomenon. It identified the intention of contemporaries and institutions whose contribution to statistical thinking and quantitative reasoning began in the Middle Ages. It evolved over a millennium from the domain of a few to become the foundation of scientific inquiry and the everyday life of ordinary people. The story highlights significant events as markers of change. It is written as a serial history that can be “an accurate method for measuring change. By definition, data series are composed of identically constructed units in order to make comparisons possible.

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Discover how England’s economic culture and scientific advancements shaped governance.

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ISBN 13 (SOFT): 9798369424919
ISBN 13 (HARD): 9798369424902
ISBN 13 (eBook): 9798369424896