The last 50 years in the West did not change everything, it gave us computers and internet. But it's had growth rates that are not probably too far from the earlier rates. Right now we're well into an info biotech economic revolution. We think it means less simply because our needs are biologically much less urgent. You only go from having no indoor plumbing and no public health to one where infant mortality is extremely low.
Brad DeLong, professor of economics at UC Berkley, OG econ blogger, and Tyler’s Harvard classmate, joins the show to discuss Slouching Towards Utopia, an economic history of the 20th century that’s been nearly thirty years in the making.
Tyler and Brad discuss what can really be gleaned from the fragmentary economics statistics of the late 19th century, the remarkable changes that occurred from 1870-1920, the astonishing flourishing of German universities in the 19th century, why investment banking allowed America and Germany to pull ahead of Britain economically, what enabled the Royal Society to become a force for progress, what Keynes got wrong, what Hayek got right, whether the middle-income trap persists, his favorite movie and novel, blogging vs. Substack, the Slouching Towards Utopia director’s cut, and much more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded November 11th, 2022
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