The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World Was Created

Four such institutions stand out as prerequisite for economic growth:

Secure property rights, not only for physical property, but also for intellectual property and one’s own person—civil liberties

A systematic procedure for examining and interpreting the world—the scientific method

A widely available and open source of funding for the development and production of new inventions—the modern capital marketplace

The ability to rapidly communicate vital information and transport people and goods

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Rather, it is about institutions—the framework within which human beings think, interact, and carry on business.

farmers and laborers made do with £15 to £20. However, currency debasement renders even this approximation wildly inaccurate with alarming frequency.

Throughout European history, the standard unit of currency of most nations was a small gold coin, such as the guinea (slightly more than a pound), livre, florin, or ducat, weighing about an eighth of an ounce and worth approximately $130 in current value. Between 1500 and 1800, the living expenses of an English gentleman might total £300 per year, while

the destinies of nations are determined far more by their economic dynamism than by the vagaries of war, culture, and politics.

rights. Property rights, in turn, are essential to prosperity, which itself is the essential fertile soil in which democracy flourishes.

law is the essential bulwark of a robust system of property

“too much” democracy may actually be bad for economic growth

economic development facilitates democracy

nations advance from the third world to the first, their citizens do indeed become more satisfied