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

 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

 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

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

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

 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

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

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

 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

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

 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.