From about 1800 to the present the world's economy did something good, which looks to be permanent and looks to be justified. If contrary to the evidence we cling to our prejudices about economic history—our view that the Industrial Revolution was improverishng, or that the Grteat Enrichment was an irremediable environmental disaster, or that Europe is rich only because of poverty in the Third World, or that the new rich are always getting relatively richer, or that after all any enrichment...| Free Association
More than a decade ago, I ventured into the subject of English agricultural land enclosure as the Industrial Revolution was coming on. I regret that I did so before doing adequate research. It's a complicated subject. To somewhat rectify my offense, I refer readers to Donald Boudreaux's recent Cafe Hayek post on the subject.| Free Association