Why open societies foster golden ages
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Shashi Tharoor examines Johan Norberg’s book Peak Human, which analyzes civilizations across three millennia to demonstrate that openness—welcoming trade, foreigners, and innovative ideas—creates golden ages, while isolation causes decline. Norberg’s research spans from Song dynasty China (960-1279 CE), which thrived through meritocracy, property rights, and international trade until the Ming emperors’ reactionary closure destroyed prosperity, to Athens and Rome, which succeeded through low tariffs, integrating conquered peoples, and maintaining extensive trade networks.
Tharoor supplements Norberg’s analysis with Indian examples: the Mauryan empire’s trade routes and Ashoka’s dhamma promoting religious tolerance; the Gupta golden age enabling Aryabhata’s mathematical innovations through economic openness; the Chola dynasty’s maritime prowess and meritocratic administration; and Akbar’s Sulh-e-Kul policy creating the syncretic Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. He concludes by warning that contemporary trends toward isolationism, protectionism, and suppression of free inquiry threaten the current era of globalization, arguing that “narrow-mindedness, bigotry, or a closed and xenophobic approach” ensures stagnation, making openness a choice rather than fate.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Historical Pattern of Openness
Norberg’s three-millennia analysis reveals that societies embracing trade, strangers, and ideas thrived, while those closing off lost dynamism and prosperity.
Song Dynasty’s Rise and Fall
Song China flourished through meritocracy and international trade, but Ming emperors’ closure—ending free movement and foreign trade—caused catastrophic decline.
Indian Empires’ Prosperity Formula
Mauryan, Gupta, Chola, and Mughal empires achieved golden ages through trade networks, religious tolerance, and meritocratic governance systems.
Akbar’s Syncretic Model
Sulh-e-Kul policy abolished discriminatory taxes, encouraged interfaith dialogue, and created Indo-Persian cultural blend through complete assimilation with local populations.
Contemporary Threats to Openness
Rising isolationism, protectionism, and suppression of free inquiry threaten post-1990 globalization gains and risk reversing unprecedented human progress.
Choice Not Fate
Tharoor concludes that prosperity requires deliberate rejection of narrow-mindedness and xenophobia—failure results from choices, not inevitable historical forces.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Openness as Universal Prosperity Formula
The article establishes that across vastly different civilizations and historical periods, a consistent pattern emerges: societies welcoming trade, diverse peoples, and innovative ideas achieve golden ages, while those imposing barriers experience decline. This transcends cultural specificity—from Song China to Mughal India to classical Athens—demonstrating that openness represents a structural requirement for sustained prosperity rather than a culturally contingent preference.
Purpose
Warning Against Contemporary Isolationism
Tharoor aims to counter rising protectionist sentiment exemplified by Trump, Milei, and Orbán by demonstrating through historical evidence that isolation guarantees decline. By supplementing Norberg’s Western examples with Indian cases, he makes the argument culturally resonant for his audience while establishing that openness isn’t Western ideology but universal wisdom. The article serves as intellectual ammunition against xenophobic nationalism threatening globalization’s gains.
Structure
Thesis → Western Examples → Indian Supplementation → Contemporary Warning
Opens by establishing Norberg’s counter-argument to Trumpian isolationism, presents Song dynasty and classical civilizations as evidence, acknowledges Norberg’s omission of Indian examples, systematically provides Mauryan through Mughal cases demonstrating identical patterns, and concludes with urgent contemporary application warning that current protectionist trends risk reversing post-1990 progress. The structure builds from abstract principle through diverse evidence to immediate political relevance.
Tone
Scholarly, Assertive & Patriotically Instructive
Tharoor maintains authoritative academic tone through historical detail and systematic evidence while expressing clear normative judgment against isolationism. The tone combines intellectual rigor with national pride—positioning Indian history as equally valid evidence while warning Indians against repeating historical mistakes. He concludes with direct address (“we in India”) and moral imperative, shifting from scholarly analysis to prescriptive civic instruction.
Key Terms
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Tough Words
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Islamic empire that ruled from 750-1258 CE, known as a golden age of Islamic civilization with flourishing arts, sciences, and trade.
“Norberg explores the rise and fall of golden ages across various civilisations…from Athens to the Anglosphere and the Abbasid caliphate.”
A large, important city that serves as a center of population, commerce, and culture; a major urban center.
“Kaifeng, the capital, became a bustling metropolis with a population far exceeding that of London at the time.”
Ashoka’s concept of moral law or righteous conduct, promoting ethical behavior, religious tolerance, and social welfare across his empire.
“Ashoka’s policy of dhamma (moral law) promoted religious tolerance, allowing Buddhism, Jainism, and various Hindu traditions to coexist.”
Akbar’s policy of “peace with all,” promoting religious tolerance, interfaith dialogue, and equal treatment regardless of religious affiliation.
“Akbar’s policy of Sulh-e-Kul (peace with all) was a prime example of this openness.”
The syncretic Hindu-Muslim composite culture that developed in North India, named after the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
“The Bhakti and Sufi movements in medieval India…flourished during this time, when the ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ enriched the cultural fabric.”
Having or showing a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries; characterized by fear or hatred of foreigners.
“Narrow-mindedness, bigotry, or a closed and xenophobic approach will only hurt us.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, the Ming dynasty’s policies of ending free movement and restricting foreign trade directly caused a significant decline in Chinese incomes.
2What parallel does Tharoor draw between the Song dynasty and the Chola empire?
3Select the sentence that best illustrates how economic prosperity enabled cultural achievement in ancient India.
4Evaluate whether each statement about Akbar’s Sulh-e-Kul policy is supported by the article.
The policy abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims and included Hindus in high-ranking administrative positions.
This syncretic approach led to the Indo-Persian cultural blend seen in architecture, miniature paintings, music, and cuisine.
Akbar’s openness policy was eventually abandoned by later Mughal emperors who returned to orthodox Islamic governance.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Why does Tharoor supplement Norberg’s analysis with extensive Indian examples rather than simply endorsing the book’s Western case studies?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Under Song emperors’ policies prioritizing rule of law and meritocracy through competitive exams, Kaifeng became a bustling metropolis with population far exceeding contemporary London. The granting of property rights and freedom of movement to peasants increased agricultural productivity, enabling urban growth. The dynasty fostered domestic and international trade with merchants issuing paper money and artisans developing new industrial processes, creating vibrant economic activity. This openness to trade and innovation made Kaifeng an exemplar of how institutional openness enables urbanization and prosperity.
The Gupta empire’s robust trade links with Southeast Asia, China, and the Roman Empire generated significant wealth through control of key trade routes and stable currency. This prosperity enabled rulers to become major patrons of arts and sciences, providing the financial and intellectual capital for figures like Aryabhata to develop revolutionary concepts including zero and sophisticated planetary motion understanding. His work, later transmitted to West Asia and Europe, exemplifies how economic openness creates surplus resources that societies can invest in scientific advancement, producing innovations with global impact.
The Chola dynasty (9th-13th centuries) established strong commercial ties with Southeast Asia, China, and the Arabian Peninsula through renowned maritime prowess, facilitating exchange of goods, ideas, and technologies. This openness to international trade contributed directly to the empire’s economic prosperity, which funded their patronage of poets, scholars, and artists. Their meritocratic administrative system, similar to Song China’s, ensured capable governance. The Cholas demonstrate how naval power enabling trade connections creates wealth that societies can reinvest in cultural production, producing enduring literary and artistic works.
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This is an Advanced-level article requiring synthesis across multiple historical periods, cultures, and conceptual frameworks. Readers must track comparative analysis between Western and Indian civilizations, understand causation patterns linking institutional openness to prosperity across vastly different contexts, recognize how historical examples support contemporary political arguments, and follow sophisticated vocabulary including terms like meritocracy, syncretic, reactionary, and protectionism. Success requires ability to see structural patterns transcending cultural specificity, understand how author uses historical evidence rhetorically, and connect millennium-spanning examples to present-day policy debates about globalization and nationalism.
Named after the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb represents the syncretic Hindu-Muslim composite culture that developed in North India, particularly flourishing during Akbar’s Sulh-e-Kul policy era. This cultural synthesis manifested in architecture, miniature paintings, music, and cuisine, demonstrating how religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue create artistic innovation. The Bhakti and Sufi movements, which emphasized personal devotion transcending religious boundaries, enriched this cultural fabric. Tharoor presents this as exemplifying how openness to diverse cultural influences produces distinctive artistic and intellectual achievements impossible in closed, religiously homogeneous societies.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
