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Lived for 240,000 years exclusively as foragers
◦ Maybe that life was pretty good

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Land can support at least 50 times as many people
But not necessarily a ‘ better ’ life than foraging
◦ It ’ s hard to go back to foraging after you ’ ve farmed
 Tribe loses foraging skills
 Population has grown

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With agriculture
◦ populations increase rapidly
◦ farming creates environmental destruction
◦ elites are needed to manage government, they take surpluses
 Small elites (maybe 5%) get the benefits of civilization

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Elites build militaries to increase power
The inequalities are found throughout ‘agrarian’ civilizations
David Christian calls the overall system
‘ the tribute-taking state ’

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Gupta Empire in India
(320-600 AD)
Early Moslem empires
Renaissance Italy, Spain
China under the Sòng, early Qing
◦ It is generally hard to tell how ordinary people were affected

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France, Netherlands, England, German states,
Spain competed
England’s Isaac Newton developed modern physics, inspired technical innovators
England’s ‘Glorious Revolution’
(1688) won rights and freedoms for middle classes
◦ Population and economy grew

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But England didn’t practice it at this point
The arguments were used to push for dismantling restrictions and subsidies on trade

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Ordinary people – first in England and then in other European countries and English-speaking parts of the world – became better off
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But few people elsewhere benefited
◦ Environmental destruction was significant

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Trade and division of labor really do increase production
But in most of history, only a small minority has benefitted
◦ And human production has had very negative impacts on the natural environment

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There is no simple way to bring the benefits of prosperity to all or end environmental damage

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After World War II, a real system for free trade is created
◦ Many more people can participate
◦ More people benefit
◦ Poor countrties can create new economies
◦ Many new regions, industries can prosper
◦ But environmental destruction is worse .