How military and information innovations affect social transformation

This book explores how major social transformations are related to four categories of information innovation as well as four categories of military evolution. In The Word and the Sword, the author outlines the effects generated by methods of presenting information, such as writing, printing, and mass media. He also discusses four ways in which applications of violence, such as artillery and steam transport, have created societal change.

After studying political science and economics as an undergraduate, Leonard Dudley took his Ph.D. in economics at Yale University. He is currently Professor of Economics at the Université de Montréal, where he teaches courses in public economics and international economics. Author of numerous papers in scholarly journals on the economic aspects of international relations, he has been a visiting professor at the University of Bamberg, Germany, and the Institute d’Etudes Politiques of Paris. His present research is on the explanation of international and intra-state conflict.

“A very thoughtful and interesting piece. Dudley shows a masterly grasp of complex issues and is dealing with subject matter that is vital for us all to think through thoroughly”. Douglas C. North, Professor of Economics, Washington University.