The Ascent of Money

In his 2006 book The War of the World and the PBS documentary miniseries of the same title (see VL-1/09], Harvard professor Niall Ferguson offered a highly revisionist interpretation of the history and economics of the 20th century. Based on Ferguson's bestselling 2008 book on world economic history, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, this two-hour abridgement (edited down from the four-hour PBS-aired version, which was itself adapted from a six-part television series made for Channel 4 in the U.K.) finds the Scottish-born Ferguson whizzing from locale to locale in swiftly-edited, vibrantly shot segments as he visits places relevant to his argument and interviews prominent economic advisers, such as financier George Soros and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. But when you cut through all the cinematic frenzy, what Ferguson is saying is neither new nor provocative. From the first moment that an artificial means of exchange was created, he says, the relationship between buyer and seller, investor and borrower, has always been based on trust (the word “credit,” after all, derives from the Latin meaning “to believe”), and throughout history the system has periodically broken down, as a result of either miscalculation or sheer duplicity. In other words, a cycle operates in which bubbles rise and burst, and our current meltdown is just the latest in a long series, though worsened by its global reach (which gives Ferguson the opportunity to bring up his pet notion of “Chimerica,” the potentially devastating economic behemoth comprised of China as creditor and America as debtor). Directed by Adrian Pennick, The Ascent of Money offers some interesting historical information on previous booms and busts, but ultimately the flashiness of presentation can't disguise the fact that the content is thin. Optional. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)