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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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