'One From the Many': Meissner’s Economic History Shines—Until It Doesn’t

'One From the Many': Meissner’s Economic History Shines—Until It Doesn’t

The most important thing a book on the economic history of the world must emphasize, again and again, is the incredible, unbelievable, unrivaled improvement in the standard of living since preindustrial times. Economics terms like “growth,” “wealth,” or “division of labor” just never seem to do that shift justice. Up until fairly recently, almost everyone in every society of every civilizational age in every part of the world toiled the earth fo…