Title
A culture of growth : the origins of the modern economy / Joel Mokyr.
ISBN
9780691168883 (hardback)
0691168881 (hardback)
Published
Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]
Language
English
Description
xiv, 403 pages ; 24 cm.
Item Number
40026974863
Call Number
HD75 .M65 2017
Dewey Decimal Classification
330
Summary
"During the late eighteenth century, innovations in Europe triggered the Industrial Revolution and the sustained economic progress that spread across the globe. While much has been made of the details of the Industrial Revolution, what remains a mystery is why it took place at all. Why did this revolution begin in the West and not elsewhere, and why did it continue, leading to today's unprecedented prosperity? In this groundbreaking book, celebrated economic historian Joel Mokyr argues that a culture of growth specific to early modern Europe and the European Enlightenment laid the foundations for the scientific advances and pioneering inventions that would instigate explosive technological and economic development. Bringing together economics, the history of science and technology, and models of cultural evolution, Mokyr demonstrates that culture--the beliefs, values, and preferences in society that are capable of changing behavior--was a deciding factor in societal transformations. Mokyr looks at the period 1500-1700 to show that a politically fragmented Europe fostered a competitive "market for ideas" and a willingness to investigate the secrets of nature. At the same time, a transnational community of brilliant thinkers known as the "Republic of Letters" freely circulated and distributed ideas and writings. This political fragmentation and the supportive intellectual environment explain how the Industrial Revolution happened in Europe but not China, despite similar levels of technology and intellectual activity. In Europe, heterodox and creative thinkers could find sanctuary in other countries and spread their thinking across borders. In contrast, China's version of the Enlightenment remained controlled by the ruling elite. Combining ideas from economics and cultural evolution, A Culture of Growth provides startling reasons for why the foundations of our modern economy were laid in the mere two centuries between Columbus and Newton."--Publisher's description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-379) and index.
Series
Graz Schumpeter lectures.
Evolution, Culture, and Economic History. Culture and Economics ; Nature and Technology ; Cultural Evolution and economics ; Choice-based Cultural Evolution ; Biases in Cultural Evolution
Cultural Entrepreneurs and Economic Change, 1500-1700. Cultural Entrepreneurs and Choice-based Cultural Evolution ; Francis Bacon, Cultural Entrepreneur ; Isaac Newton, Cultural Entrepreneur
Innovation, Competition, and Pluralism in Europe, 1500-1700. Cultural Choice in Action : Human Capital and Religion ; Cultural Change and the Growth of Useful Knowledge, 1500-1700 ; Fragmentation, Competition, and Cultural Change ; Competition and the Republic of Letters
Prelude to the Enlightenment. Puritanism and British Exceptionalism ; A culture of Progress ; The Enlightenment and Economic Change
Cultural Change in the East and West. China and Europe ; China and the Enlightenment ; Useful Knowledge and Economic Growth.
