The birth of plenty : how the prosperity of the modern world was created/ William J. Bernstein.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-401).

Sect. I. The sources of growth -- Ch. 1. A hypothesis of wealth -- Ch. 2. Property -- Ch. 3. Reason -- Ch. 4. Capital -- Ch. 5. Power, speed, and light -- Ch. 6. Synthesis of growth -- Sect. II. Nations -- Ch. 7. The winners - Holland and England -- Ch. 8. Runners-ups -- Ch. 9. The last -- Sect. III. Consequences -- Ch. 10. God, culture, mammon, and the hedonic treadmill -- Ch. 11. The great trade-off -- Ch. 12. Mammon and Mars : the winner's curse -- Ch. 13. The end of growth? -- Ch. 14. When, where, and whither.

"The Birth of Plenty suggests - and supports with groundbreaking analysis - that from the dawn of recorded history through 1820, the "mass of man" experienced essentially zero growth, both in economic standing or living standards. It was only in the nineteenth century that the world's standard of living began to inexorably and irreversibly improve and the modern world was born." "The Birth of Plenty frames the modern world's prosperity - or, in far too many cases, continuing lack of prosperity - in terms that are ingenious yet simple, complex yet easily understood. Entertaining and provocative, it will forever change the way you view the human pursuit of happiness and bring the conflicts of both the world's superpowers and developing nations into a fascinating and informative new light."--BOOK JACKET.