Jason Briggeman
@jbriggeman.liberalcurrents.com
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Economics professor at Austin Community College. Associate Editor for Liberal Currents. briggeman.org
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![- thwarting marauders, and marauding (Mokyr, Mills)
“Premodern growth, whether in Europe or elsewhere tended to be limited and bound,” often because “an increase in income…normally induced a variety of opportunistic predators, parasites, and profiteers,” these arriving “either from within the economy in the form of tax-collectors, thugs, and mercenaries, or they came from outside as alien pillagers and plunderers… Many [an episode] of growth before 1750 in some way found itself confronted by some greedy ruffian… It surely is no accident that the only areas that had been able to thwart off such marauders were those with natural defenses such as Britain and the Netherlands.” —Joel Mokyr
“The exploitation of the empire (the bullion from the great gold and silver mines in Mexico and Peru, the profits from plantation slavery, the fortunes made by the colonial companies, the general social and economic stimulus provided by the opening up of the ‘New World’) was to a greater or lesser extent crucial in enabling and then consolidating the takeoff.” —Charles Mills](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6er2qgkfqqdnbewf4m4c642g/bafkreibty3vuchky7chl5ngbjt4fpv63mmjebbggoj6cwwhgytddf7vzbi@jpeg)
Reposted by Jason Briggeman
Reposted by Jason Briggeman
Reposted by Jason Briggeman
Reposted by Jason Briggeman
