The Birth of Modern Prosperity, Part 1 | The Shape of the Story (with Oded Galor)

On Humans

We live longer and grow taller than ever before. We are healthier and wealthier. Our ancestors could hardly have imagined a life of such prosperity. A future archaeologist would be equally puzzled. How did we become so rich so fast? What changes could have been so dramatic as to literally change the height of our species?

Our modern prosperity is not the outcome of slow and steady progress. For most of human history, there was no upward trend in the health and wealth of the average human. The big events of history rarely changed the life of the local farmer.

So what changed?

"The Birth of Modern Prosperity" is a four-part series exploring the recent revolution in the human condition. The series is composed of curated highlights from interviews with leading economic historians. Each episode introduces one leading theory about the origins of our modern experience. While doing so, they offer fresh answers to many old questions, such as: Is technological innovation a force for good? Did the Industrial Revolution benefit the masses? Is the world more or less equal than before?

The series will explore these topics from four angles:

1. Education, Family, & Colonialism (with Oded Galor)
2. Inventors & Engineers (with Brad DeLong)
3. Democracy & Labour (with Daron Acemoglu)
4. Equality & Inequality (with Branko Milanovic)

Today's episode is part 1 with Oded Galor, author ofThe Journey of Humanity: Origins of Wealth and Inequality. The original episodes are numbers 12 and 13.

We discuss:

• The long arch of human history
• Why improvements in technology have rarely benefitted the masses
• Why this changed around the 1870s.
• The virtuous cycle of technology, education, and prosperity

We also compare the economic history of Britain and India to shed light on how colonialism has enforced age-old obstacles to prosperity.

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