Conclusion: Money, Trade, and the Unending Quest for Scale
The core of human progress, stripped to its essence, is about our remarkable capacity to Learn, Cooperate, and Innovate, at Scale - amplified by the trio of Money , Trade , and the Rule of Law . Money and Trade In exploring what gives rise to human progress, we started with this chapter on trade , as old as humanity itself, and money , humanity's most ingenious invention. Trade expands the overall pie, while money serves as the indispensable lubricant of economic growth. Ac
Nov 163 min read
When Distance Died: The Transport Revolution and Its Discontents
Before the late nineteenth century, the world was lumpy. It was a planet of pockets where, for millennia, distance was destiny . Travel moved at the speed of horses and sailing winds—perhaps thirty miles per day if you were lucky. A letter from London to Calcutta took four months and risked shipwreck. A person born in a rural village would likely die having traveled no farther than fifty miles from home. Markets remained stubbornly local, and cities couldn't grow beyond the
Nov 1612 min read
The Gambling Scot Who Broke France
In the annals of financial catastrophes, few performances rival the breathtaking spectacle orchestrated by John Law, the Scottish gambler-turned-financier.  He soared from commoner to the richest man in Europe, only to flee Paris in the dead of night with nothing but a single diamond and the lingering scent of economic ruin. His story reads like a fantastic novel—except the economic devastation he unleashed was chillingly real, the riots were deadly, and the national trauma h
Aug 1617 min read
When Holland Was the World's Superpower
Forget everything you think you know about superpowers. Before Britain ruled the waves, before America dominated the globe, a tiny, waterlogged republic smaller than West Virginia controlled world trade. In the 17th century, Holland—a collection of soggy provinces that shouldn't have mattered—became the richest and most powerful nation on Earth. The numbers are staggering. In 1595, Amsterdam was a regional port dependent on Portuguese spice traders. By 1650, its fleet was lar
Aug 211 min read
