David S. Landes
To understand the massive economic disparities dividing the globe today, look beyond geography and resources to the cultural values that shape human innovation and enterprise.
While geography initially dictates a region's developmental baseline by influencing agriculture and disease, culture ultimately determines whether a society can overcome these environmental constraints.
Europe's rise to global economic dominance was fueled by a unique decentralization of political power that fostered competition between states and protected private property from absolute rulers.
The routinization of discovery, where societies actively encouraged intellectual inquiry and rewarded practical experimentation, was the essential catalyst for the Industrial Revolution.