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September 2003 ยท Historically Speaking one, they will supply one themselves.1 The storytheytell is that the Industrial Revolution started in the late 18th century and (with a lag) prompted what they call "modern economic growth." Before the Industrial Revolution the world was "Malthusian" and experienced little, ifany, economic growth. In the 19th century the West started suddenly to grow, making (almost) everyone in it rich. This was accompanied by growing investment in human capital (mostly education), inducing people to have fewer (but better educated) children, and sustained technological progress, reinforcing the process of growth. Historians canpoke endless holes in mese stylized facts. There was more growth in the premodern economies than economists suppose , and evidence that the world was in a "Malthusian trap" before 1750 is decidedly mixed. The connection between education, economic growth, and human fertility is hugely complex and differs across various Western societies. The details reveal a far more nuanced and subde storythan the crude stylized facts thatinspire economists to build their models. But the basic story must be right: whether the world economy before 1750 was indeed in a stasis or not, there can be no doubt that economic growth as we knowitis a novel phenomenon. For instance, income per capita in the UK in 1890 was about $4100 in 1990 international dollars. It grew in the subsequent years by an average of1.4% peryear. Had itbeen growingatthat same rate in the previous 300 years, income per capita in 1590 would have been $61, which clearly is absurdly low. Whatever the exactcause, the centuryofthepaxBritannica witnessed the departure of the Occident Express with the British car in the lead. The train ride tooktheWesternworld to unprecedented prosperity, leavingmuch ofthe world behind on the platform. By 1914 the current division between rich and poor countries, termed by one wry economist "twin peaks," had been created.2 A century later it is still there in rough lines, and whereas some nations have been able to hop across the chasm, it is hard to deny that the chasm between rich and poor economies is a signal characteristic ofour planet. And there is no sign it is getting any narrower. How are we to think of this? Should we think that there was something defective about societies such as Paraguay, the Philippines , or Cameroon which prevented them from growing? Or was there something unique about the Western experience in the 18th centurythatmutated and created anew kind ofsociety, unlike anything seen before? This way ofphrasing the question may seem to some similar to whether a zebra is white with black stripes or vice versa. Yet ifwe do not want to think of much of the world as failures, we are forced to think about a unique event that occurred in the West before the Industrial Revolution. One approach is to postulate thatall economies have the potential to grow, but that obstacles prevented them from realizing this potential until the Industrial Revolution. What we have to search for above all is something thathelped dissolvethese "blockingfactors"whichbefore 1750 imposed upper bounds on the economic growth ofpreindustrial society.3 Inmyview, the Enlightenmentis one factor that could have made the difference. The Enlightenmentcombined a beliefin the possibilityand desirabilityofsocial progresswith a faith in rationality and the ability ofknowledge to improve the human condition. It resided firmlyin the realm ofdiscourse, rhetoric , persuasion, and beliefs. Oddly enough, few economists have made explicit attempts to connect ideological and intellectual changes with economic development. Most economists tend to believe that changes in power, technology, income, and prices determine economic outcomes, and in the end CORRECTION In the June 2003 issue ofHistorically Speaking we mistakenly listed David Moltke-Hansen as co-author ofWilliam S. Pollitzer's The Gullah People and Their African Heritage (University of Georgia Press, 1999). In fact, he wrote a Foreword for that book. The Editors H THE ISTORICAL O OCIETY 656 Beacon Street, Mezzanine Boston, MA 02215-2010 ph. 617.358.0260 fx. 617.358.0250 historic@bu.edu www.bu.edu/historic PRESIDENT Peter Coclanis PAST PRESIDENTS George Huppert (2000-2002) Eugene D. Genovese (1998-2000) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Louis A. Ferleger ASSISTANT DIRECTORS Joseph S. Lucas Donald A. Yerxa SECRETARY/TREASURER Jeffrey Vanke EDITOR, THE JOURNAL OF THE...

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