Peer Vries's Great Divergence

While that may not have been its original purpose, the examination system turned into a powerful tool to defend incumbents against the threat of intellectual innovators who threatened their political power and the value of their human capital. The Mandarin civil service examinations, Needham insiste...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTijdschrift voor sociale en economische geschiedenis Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 93 - 104
Main Author Mokyr, Joel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam International Institute of Social History 15.06.2015
Leuven University Press
openjournals.nl
Subjects
Economic growth
History
Hypotheses
United Kingdom > UK
Europe
China
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Summary:While that may not have been its original purpose, the examination system turned into a powerful tool to defend incumbents against the threat of intellectual innovators who threatened their political power and the value of their human capital. The Mandarin civil service examinations, Needham insisted with some hyperbole, caused the system to ?perpetuate itself through ten thousand generations'.4 In a society in which public office remained ?the most important source of prestige and wealth'5 the best and brightest young men allocated their time and efforts to prepare for these examinations.
ISSN:1572-1701
2468-9068
2468-9068
DOI:10.18352/tseg.59