Þe Meaning of 1870: Þe Year Everything Changed
For “The International Economy”, Fall 2022 issue; an excerpt from “Slouching Towards Utopia: Þe Economic History of þe 20th Century”
Before 1870, inventions and innovations had by and large been singular discoveries and adaptations. They produced new and better ways of doing old things: of making thread, of weaving cloth, of carrying goods about, of making iron, of raising coal, and of growing wheat and rice and corn. Having pioneered these improvements, their inventors then set about finding ways to exploit them. It was a process that required inventors to be not just researchers but development engineers, maintenance technicians, human resource managers, bosses, cheerleaders, marketers, impresarios, and financiers as well…