WEBVTT

00:00:00.403 --> 00:00:03.214
♪ [music] ♪

00:00:10.474 --> 00:00:15.110
- [Professor Don Boudreaux] When we tell the tale of 
the hockey stick of human prosperity, the phenomenon

00:00:15.110 --> 00:00:20.040
of innovationism plays a leading role in
the story. Think about it. The steam

00:00:20.040 --> 00:00:25.040
engine, indoor plumbing, penicillin, 
semiconductors, air conditioning, automobiles,

00:00:25.040 --> 00:00:30.800
TVs, airplanes, desktops, laptops, iPads,
smart phones, the internet. The list of

00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:35.120
brilliant inventions from the past few
centuries is long. Yet, the number of

00:00:35.120 --> 00:00:40.850
relatively minor, unsung improvements is
still longer, much, much longer. I'd

00:00:40.850 --> 00:00:44.560
personally like to give a shout-out to
whoever invented the sealed lunch bag. You

00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:46.160
rock.

00:00:46.160 --> 00:00:51.130
The great economic historian Deirdre
McCloskey coined the term “innovationism” to

00:00:51.130 --> 00:00:56.000
describe this phenomenon. She contends
that it is the defining feature of the

00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:01.060
past 200 or so years of human history. Of
course, the world had inventors and

00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:06.100
innovators before the 18th century, but
they were few and far between. Compared to

00:01:06.100 --> 00:01:10.550
today, the world before the 18th century
was not only very poor, it was also

00:01:10.550 --> 00:01:15.920
static. People in, say, 10th century
France or 15th century Sweden lived their

00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.100
entire lives without much change. Their
economy, their world, was pretty much like

00:01:21.100 --> 00:01:25.570
their parents' world, which was pretty
much like their parents' world and so on,

00:01:25.570 --> 00:01:29.350
for generations on end.

00:01:29.350 --> 00:01:34.650
So what caused this orgy of innovation and
the resulting bend in the hockey stick?

00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:39.230
Scholars still debate this question today.
Of course, one important component, as

00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:43.730
argued by Nobel economist Douglass North,
was good institutions, such as secure

00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:48.830
property rights, non-corrupt courts, and
the rule of law. These institutions laid

00:01:48.830 --> 00:01:52.620
the foundation for the resulting expansion
of specialization in trade, which

00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:57.000
unquestionably fueled the innovation
engine. However, some scholars contend

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.400
that this explanation is incomplete.
For example, some point to improvements in

00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:06.020
education, others to the discovery of
inexpensive access to reliable energy,

00:02:06.020 --> 00:02:08.250
like plentiful coal in England.

00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:13.160
McCloskey argues that the vital spark for
all of this innovation was a change in

00:02:13.160 --> 00:02:18.750
attitudes. Specifically, the growing
appreciation among ordinary people, of

00:02:18.750 --> 00:02:23.780
entrepreneurial innovators, and of the
economic changes they unleash. Rather than

00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:30.840
celebrate conquerors and kings, people
began to applaud merchants and inventors.

00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:35.480
Whatever the answer, getting it right is
of profound importance, not just because it

00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:40.900
explains how we got to where we are today,
but, much more importantly, because it is

00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:45.660
crucial to helping still poor people reach
our high level of prosperity, as many

00:02:45.660 --> 00:02:50.840
around the world are still unlucky enough
to live on the handle of the hockey stick.

00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:54.340
Voting continues, so please send us
whatever additional, Everyday Economics

00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:58.320
questions you have. Here's the current
leader board. Go vote and tell us what

00:02:58.320 --> 00:03:00.466
topics you want covered next.

00:03:00.466 --> 00:03:03.500
♪ [music] ♪