Includes bibliographical references (pages [238]-257) and index.

part Part I The logic -- chapter 1 The nature and origin of modern society -- chapter 2 The failure and success of East Asia -- chapter 3 The self-transforming machine -- part Part II Reflection -- chapter 4 The discovery of distance -- chapter 5 The face in the mirror -- chapter 6 Institutions that reflect -- part Part III Entrepreneurship -- chapter 7 Origins of the entrepreneurial outlook -- chapter 8 The age of the demiurge -- chapter 9 Institutions that get things done -- part Part IV Pluralism -- chapter 10 A world in pieces -- chapter 11 The polite alternative -- chapter 12 Institutions dealing with conflicts -- part Part V European paths to modernity -- chapter 13 Institutions and revolutions -- part Part VI China -- chapter 14 Reflection -- chapter 15 Entrepreneurship -- chapter 16 Pluralism -- chapter 17 Europe and China compared -- part Part VII Reform and revolution in Japan and China -- chapter 18 Foreign challenges, Japanese responses -- chapter 19 Japan and China in a modern world -- part Part VIII The future of modern society -- chapter 20 The new politics of modernisation.