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- [Professor Don Boudreaux] When we tell the tale of
the hockey stick of human prosperity, the phenomenon
of innovationism plays a leading role in
the story. Think about it. The steam
engine, indoor plumbing, penicillin,
semiconductors, air conditioning, automobiles,
TVs, airplanes, desktops, laptops, iPads,
smart phones, the internet. The list of
brilliant inventions from the past few
centuries is long. Yet, the number of
relatively minor, unsung improvements is
still longer, much, much longer. I'd
personally like to give a shout-out to
whoever invented the sealed lunch bag. You
rock.
The great economic historian Deirdre
McCloskey coined the term “innovationism” to
describe this phenomenon. She contends
that it is the defining feature of the
past 200 or so years of human history. Of
course, the world had inventors and
innovators before the 18th century, but
they were few and far between. Compared to
today, the world before the 18th century
was not only very poor, it was also
static. People in, say, 10th century
France or 15th century Sweden lived their
entire lives without much change. Their
economy, their world, was pretty much like
their parents' world, which was pretty
much like their parents' world and so on,
for generations on end.
So what caused this orgy of innovation and
the resulting bend in the hockey stick?
Scholars still debate this question today.
Of course, one important component, as
argued by Nobel economist Douglass North,
was good institutions, such as secure
property rights, non-corrupt courts, and
the rule of law. These institutions laid
the foundation for the resulting expansion
of specialization in trade, which
unquestionably fueled the innovation
engine. However, some scholars contend
that this explanation is incomplete.
For example, some point to improvements in
education, others to the discovery of
inexpensive access to reliable energy,
like plentiful coal in England.
McCloskey argues that the vital spark for
all of this innovation was a change in
attitudes. Specifically, the growing
appreciation among ordinary people, of
entrepreneurial innovators, and of the
economic changes they unleash. Rather than
celebrate conquerors and kings, people
began to applaud merchants and inventors.
Whatever the answer, getting it right is
of profound importance, not just because it
explains how we got to where we are today,
but, much more importantly, because it is
crucial to helping still poor people reach
our high level of prosperity, as many
around the world are still unlucky enough
to live on the handle of the hockey stick.
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