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- [Professor Don Boudreaux][br]When we tell the tale

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of the hockey stick of human prosperity,[br]the phenomenon of innovationism

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plays a leading role in the story.

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Think about it.

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The steam engine, indoor plumbing,[br]penicillin, semiconductors,

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air conditioning, automobiles,[br]TVs, airplanes, desktops,

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laptops, iPads,[br]smart phones, the internet --

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the list of brilliant inventions[br]from the past few centuries is long.

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Yet, the number of relatively minor,[br]unsung improvements

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is still longer -- much, much longer.

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I'd personally like to give a shout-out[br]to whoever invented the sealed lunch bag.

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You rock.

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The great economic historian,[br]Deirdre McCloskey,

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coined the term “innovationism”[br]to describe this phenomenon.

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She contends that it is[br]the defining feature

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of the past 200 or so years[br]of human history.

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Of course, the world had inventors[br]and innovators before the 18th century,

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but they were few and far between.

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Compared to today, the world[br]before the 18th century

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was not only very poor, it was also static.

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People in, say, 10th century France[br]or 15th century Sweden

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lived their entire lives[br]without much change.

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Their economy, their world,[br]was pretty much like their parents' world,

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which was pretty much[br]like their parents' world and so on,

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for generations on end.

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So what caused this orgy of innovation

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and the resulting bend[br]in the hockey stick?

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Scholars still debate this question today.

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Of course, one important component,

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as argued by Nobel economist[br]Douglass North,

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was good institutions,[br]such as secure property rights,

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non-corrupt courts, and the rule of law.

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These institutions laid the foundation

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for the resulting expansion[br]of specialization in trade,

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which unquestionably fueled[br]the innovation engine.

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However, some scholars contend[br]that this explanation is incomplete.

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For example, some point[br]to improvements in education,

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others to the discovery[br]of inexpensive access to reliable energy,

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like plentiful coal in England.

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McCloskey argues that the vital spark[br]for all of this innovation

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was a change in attitudes.

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Specifically, the growing appreciation[br]among ordinary people,

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of entrepreneurial innovators,[br]and of the economic changes they unleash.

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Rather than celebrate[br]conquerors and kings,

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people began to applaud[br]merchants and inventors.

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Whatever the answer, getting it right[br]is of profound importance,

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not just because it explains how[br]we got to where we are today,

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but, much more importantly,[br]because it is crucial

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to helping still poor people[br]reach our high level of prosperity,

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as many around the world[br]are still unlucky enough

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to live on the handle of the hockey stick.

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Voting continues, so please send us

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whatever additional, Everyday Economics[br]questions you have.

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Here's the current leader board.[br]Go vote and tell us

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what topics you want covered next.

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