The Economic History Podcast
Slouching Towards Utopia
In this episode, we meet Prof. Bradford DeLong to discuss his recent book 'Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century.' We cover the rate of technological change prior to the industrial revolution. Before 1500, "the amount of technological change they got in a century, we get in two and a half years"! We also look at some prerequisites for industrialisation and discuss how the second industrial revolution was the game-changer in terms of long run living standards. After discussing the European turnaround after the Marshall Plan, we finish in the post-war era by looking at "Pacific Rim" development and how it differed from previous modern economic growth episodes.
In this episode, we meet Prof. Bradford DeLong to discuss his recent book 'Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century.' We cover the rate of technological change prior to the industrial revolution. Before 1500, "the amount of technological change they got in a century, we get in two and a half years"! We also look at some prerequisites for industrialisation and discuss how the second industrial revolution was the game-changer in terms of long run living standards. After discussing the European turnaround after the Marshall Plan, we finish in the post-war era by looking at "Pacific Rim" development and how it differed from previous modern economic growth episodes.