An Economist on History: Deirdre Mccloskey’s Perspective

The article analyzes the conception of the history and progress of mankind, presented in recent fundamental research by Deirdre McCloskey. The author stresses the non-materialistic view of institutional change that is characteristic of them. The article examines the controversy with almost all current explanations of the breakthrough of the Western world to the economic growth and prosperity. The paper also presents McCloskey’s own theory that explains this breakthrough by the radical change of rhetoric recognizing the “bourgeois virtues” and the dignity of the bourgeoisie. Attention is drawn to the fact that McCloskey’s views repudiate the predetermined course of history, on the one hand, and its irreversibility, on the other.