Since the emergence of anatomically modern human in africa, 300 thousand years ago, people are innovating. One stone tool is replacing an astone tool. Progress is not made daily, but it is made over the over the centuries. When technology is advancing during this period, it permits people to have more resources. And when they have more resources, more of their children survive. So then, despite its progress in technology, resources per person are declining back to their initial position. The level of technology determines the size of the population and affects the rate of ological progress.
Oded Galor’s remarkable new book, The Journey of Humanity, can feel like seeing the world with fresh eyes. His analysis of the origins of wealth and inequality is compelling, original and, especially during these troubled times, refreshingly optimistic. Speaking across the political divide the book sets out a convincing blueprint for how a better life can be had by everyone on the planet. Galor, an economist at Brown University, upends many of our assumptions about human progress. For nearly all of human history humans lived a subsistence existence but something astonishing happened 200 years ago and the living standards of nearly all humans have skyrocketed – albeit unevenly – since then. Hosting the discussion is journalist, author and former BBC News Editorial Director, Kamal Ahmed.
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