Globalization and the Great Convergence: Rethinking World History in the Long Term

About a thousand years ago, the forces drawing people closer together became more powerful than those fostering ever-increasing cultural diversity. From that beginning, this "great convergence" has proceeded unsteadily to the globalization of the present day. Proceeding from this premise, this immodest essay explores the value of long-term thinking for understanding world history. Topics discussed include the spread and decline of languages, the virtues and faults of empires, the periodization of history, and the emergence of world history as a discipline.