Tag: The Birth of Plenty
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Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Technology & Infrastructure (Part 2)
Practical Impact To illustrate the impact of technological and infrastructure changes on daily life, imagine that the year is 1789, and you are living in Philadelphia. George Washington had just been elected president of the United States. You have always been one of George's biggest fans. He just dropped by your house and appointed you…
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Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Technology & Infrastructure (Part 1)
Western Advances We have briefly reviewed three of William J. Bernstein's four factors that led to today's unprecedented prosperity: property rights, scientific rationalism, and capital markets. Bernstein refers to the fourth factor as "power, transportation, and light." I'm simply referring to this as "technology and infrastructure." (1) Not every technological innovation that contributed to Europe's…
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Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Capital Markets (Part 2)
Renaissance to Enlightenment Most of Europe was a collection of feudal agrarian societies before the Renaissance. Serfs paid rent to a lord for the use of land. That lord paid rent to a higher lord, who paid rent to a King. Lack of clear title for land ownership made exchanges in real estate very difficult.…
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Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Scientific Rationalism
Scientific Rationalism “Thou has ordered all things in measure and number and weight.” (Wisdom of Solomon 11:20) The second factor that led to unprecedented prosperity, according to William J. Bernstein, is reason, specifically science. (1) While I agree with Bernstein about the centrality of reason to the expansion of prosperity, I differ with him on…
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Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Property Rights
RECAP We've now examined the five elements of the cycle of prosperity: technology, food supply, human capital, economic growth and wealth, and trade. We've noted that this cycle exists within two important societal environments. First is a physical environment, with its specific set of resources, challenges, and proximity to other societies. Second, a cultural environment…