The Rational Optimist

Index

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Abbasids 161, 178
Abelard, Peter 358
aborigines (Australian): division of labour 62, 63, 76; farming 127; technological regress 78–84; trade 90–91, 92
abortion, compulsory 203
Abu Hureyra 127
Acapulco 184
accounting systems 160, 168, 196
Accra 189
Acemoglu, Daron 321
Ache people 61
Acheulean tools 48–9, 50, 275, 373
Achuar people 87
acid rain 280, 281, 304–6, 329, 339
acidification of oceans 280, 340–41
Adams, Henry 289
Aden 177
Adenauer, Konrad 289
Aegean sea 168, 170–71
Afghanistan 14, 208–9, 315, 353
Africa: agriculture 145, 148, 154–5, 326; AIDS epidemic 14, 307–8, 316, 319, 320, 322; colonialism 319–20, 321–2; demographic transition 210, 316, 328; economic growth 315, 326–8, 332, 347; international aid 317–19, 322, 328; lawlessness 293, 320; life expectancy 14, 316, 422; per capita income 14, 315, 317, 320; poverty 314–17, 319–20, 322, 325–6, 327–8; prehistoric 52–5, 65–6, 83, 123, 350; property rights 320, 321, 323–5; trade 187–8, 320, 322–3, 325, 326, 327–8; see also individual countries
African-Americans 108
agricultural employment: decline in 42–3; hardships of 13, 219–20, 285–6
agriculture: early development of 122–30, 135–9, 352, 387, 388; fertilisers, development of 135, 139–41, 142, 146, 147, 337; genetically modified (GM) crops 28, 32, 148, 151–6, 283, 358; hybrids, development of 141–2, 146, 153; and trade 123, 126, 127–33, 159, 163–4; and urbanisation 128, 158–9, 163–4, 215; see also farming; food supply
Agta people 61–2
aid, international 28, 141, 154, 203, 317–19, 328
AIDS 8, 14, 307–8, 310, 316, 319, 320, 322, 331, 353
AIG (insurance corporation) 115
air conditioning 17
air pollution 304–5
air travel: costs of 24, 37, 252, 253; speed of 253
aircraft 257, 261, 264, 266
Akkadian empire 161, 164–5
Al-Ghazali 357
Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa 115
Al-Qaeda 296
Albania 187
Alcoa (corporation) 24
Alexander the Great 169, 171
Alexander, Gary 295
Alexandria 171, 175, 270
Algeria 53, 246, 345
alphabet, invention of 166, 396
Alps 122, 178
altruism 93–4, 97
aluminium 24, 213, 237, 303
Alyawarre aborigines 63
Amalfi 178
Amazon (corporation) 21, 259, 261
Amazonia 76, 138, 145, 250–51
amber 71, 92
ambition 45–6, 351
Ames, Bruce 298–9
Amish people 211
ammonia 140, 146
Amsterdam 115–16, 169, 259, 368
Amsterdam Exchange Bank 251
Anabaptists 211
Anatolia 127, 128, 164, 165, 166, 167
Ancoats, Manchester 214
Andaman islands 66–7, 78
Andes 123, 140, 163
Andrew, Deroi Kwesi 189
Angkor Wat 330
Angola 316
animal welfare 104, 145–6
animals: conservation 324, 339; extinctions 17, 43, 64, 68, 69–70, 243, 293, 302, 338–9; humans’ differences from other 1, 2–4, 6, 56, 58, 64
Annan, Kofi 337
Antarctica 334
anti-corporatism 110–111, 114
anti-slavery 104, 105–6, 214
antibiotics 6, 258, 271, 307
antimony 213
ants 75–6, 87–8, 192
apartheid 108
apes 56–7, 59–60, 62, 65, 88; see also chimpanzees; orang-utans
‘apocaholics’ 295, 301
Appalachia 239
Apple (corporation) 260, 261, 268
Aquinas, St Thomas 102
Arabia 66, 159, 176, 179
Arabian Sea 174
Arabs 89, 175, 176–7, 180, 209, 357
Aral Sea 240
Arcadia Biosciences (company) 31–2
Archimedes 256
Arctic Ocean 125, 130, 185, 334, 338–9
Argentina 15, 186, 187
Arikamedu 174
Aristotle 115, 250
Arizona 152, 246, 345
Arkwright, Sir Richard 227
Armenians 89
Arnolfini, Giovanni 179
art: cave paintings 2, 68, 73, 76–7; and commerce 115–16; symbolism in 136; as unique human trait 4
Ashur, Assyria 165
Asimov, Isaac 354
Asoka the Great 172–3
aspirin 258
asset price inflation 24, 30
Assyrian empire 161, 165–6, 167
asteroid impacts, risk of 280, 333
astronomy 221, 270, 357
Athabasca tar sands, Canada 238
Athens 115, 170, 171
Atlantic Monthly 293
Atlantic Ocean 125, 170
Attica 171
Augustus, Roman emperor 174
Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony 184–5
Australia: climate 127, 241, 300, 334; prehistoric 66, 67, 69–70, 127; trade 187; see also aborigines (Australian); Tasmania
Austria 132
Ausubel, Jesse 239, 346, 409
automobiles see cars axes: copper 123, 131, 132, 136, 271; stone 2, 5, 48–9, 50, 51, 71, 81, 90–91, 92, 118–19, 271

Babylon 21, 161, 166, 240, 254, 289
Bacon, Francis 255
bacteria: cross fertilisation 271; and pest control 151; resistance to antibiotics 6, 258, 271, 307; symbiosis 75
Baghdad 115, 177, 178, 357
Baines, Edward 227
Baird, John Logie 38
baking 124, 130
‘balance of nature’, belief in 250–51
Balazs, Etienne 183
bald eagles 17, 299
Bali 66
Baltic Sea 71, 128–9, 180, 185
Bamako 326
bananas 92, 126, 149, 154, 392
Bangladesh 204, 210, 426
Banks, Sir Joseph 221
Barigaza (Bharuch) 174
barley 32, 124, 151
barrels 176
bartering vii, 56–60, 65, 84, 91–2, 163, 356
Basalla, George 272
Basra 177
battery farming 104, 145–6
BBC 295
beads 53, 70, 71, 73, 81, 93, 162
beef 186, 224, 308; see also cattle bees, killer 280
Beijing 17
Beinhocker, Eric 112
Bell, Alexander Graham 38
Bengal famine (1943) 141
benzene 257
Berlin 299
Berlin, Sir Isaiah 288
Bernard of Clairvaux, St 358
Berners-Lee, Sir Tim 38, 273
Berra, Yogi 354
Besant, Annie 208
Bhutan 25–6
Bible 138, 168, 396
bicycles 248–9, 263, 269–70
bin Laden, Osama 110
biofuels 149, 236, 238, 239, 240–43, 246, 300, 339, 343, 344, 346, 393
Bird, Isabella 197–8
birds: effects of pollution on 17, 299; killed by wind turbines 239, 409; nests 51; sexual differences 64; songbirds 55; see also individual species
bireme galleys 167
Birmingham 223
birth control see contraception
birth rates: declining 204–212; and food supply 192, 208–9; and industrialisation 202; measurement of 205, 403; population control policies 202–4, 208; pre-industrial societies 135, 137; and television 234; and wealth 200–201, 204, 205–6, 209, 211, 212; see also population growth
Black Death 181, 195–6, 197, 380
Black Sea 71, 128, 129, 170, 176, 180
blogging 257
Blombos Cave, South Africa 53, 83
blood circulation, discovery of 258
Blunt, John 29
boat-building 167, 168, 177; see also canoes; ship-building
Boers 321, 322
Bohemia 222
Bolivia 315, 324
Bolsheviks 324
Borlaug, Norman 142–3, 146
Borneo 339
Bosch, Carl 140, 412
Botswana 15, 316, 320–22, 326
Bottger, Johann Friedrich 184–5
Boudreaux, Don 21, 214
Boulton, Matthew 221, 256, 413–14
bows and arrows 43, 62, 70, 82, 137, 251, 274
Boxgrove hominids 48, 50
Boyer, Stanley 222, 405
Boyle, Robert 256
Bradlaugh, Charles 208
brain size 3–4, 48–9, 51, 55
Bramah, Joseph 221
Branc, Slovakia 136
Brand, Stewart 154, 189, 205
Brando, Marlon 110
brass 223
Brazil 38, 87, 123, 190, 240, 242, 315, 358
bread 38, 124, 140, 158, 224, 286, 392
bridges, suspension 283
Brin, Sergey 221, 405
Britain: affluence 12, 16, 224–5, 236, 296–7; birth rates 195, 200–201, 206, 208, 227; British exceptionalism 200–202, 221–2; climate change policy 330–31; consumer prices 24, 224–5, 227, 228; copyright system 267; enclosure acts 226, 323, 406; energy use 22, 231–2, 232–3, 342–3, 368, 430; ‘glorious revolution’ (1688) 223; income equality 18–19, 218; industrial revolution 201–2, 216–17, 220–32, 255–6, 258–9; life expectancy 15, 17–18; National Food Service 268; National Health Service 111, 261; parliamentary reform 107; per capita income 16, 218, 227, 285, 404–5; productivity 112; property rights 223, 226, 323–4; state benefits 16; tariffs 185–6, 186–7, 223; see also England; Scotland; Wales
British Empire 161, 322
bronze 164, 168, 177
Brosnan, Sarah 59
Brown, Lester 147–8, 281–2, 300–301
Brown, Louise 306
Bruges 179
Brunel, Sir Marc 221
Buddhism 2, 172, 357
Buddle, John 412
Buffett, Warren 106, 268
Bulgaria 320
Burkina Faso 154
Burma 66, 67, 209, 335
Bush, George W. 161
Butler, Eamonn 105, 249
Byblos 167
Byzantium 176, 177, 179

cabbages 298
‘Caesarism’ 289
Cairo 323
Calcutta 190, 315
Calico Act (1722) 226
Califano, Joseph 202–3
California: agriculture 150; Chumash people 62, 92–3; development of credit card 251, 254; Mojave Desert 69; Silicon Valley 221–2, 224, 257, 258, 259, 268
Cambodia 14, 315
camels 135, 176–7
camera pills 270–71
Cameroon 57
Campania 174, 175
Canaanites 166, 396
Canada 141, 169, 202, 238, 304, 305
Canal du Midi 251
cancer 14, 18, 293, 297–9, 302, 308, 329
Cannae, battle of 170
canning 186, 258
canoes 66, 67, 79, 82
capitalism 23–4, 101–4, 110, 115, 133, 214, 258–62, 291–2, 311; see also corporations; markets
‘Captain Swing’ 283
capuchin monkeys 96–7, 375
Caral, Peru 162–3
carbon dioxide emissions 340–47; absorption of 217; and agriculture 130, 337–8; and biofuels 242; costs of 331; and economic growth 315, 332; and fossil fuels 237, 315; and local sourcing of goods 41–2; taxes 346, 356
Cardwell’s Law 411
Caribbean see West Indies
Carnegie, Andrew 23
Carney, Thomas 173
carnivorism 51, 60, 62, 68–9, 147, 156, 241, 376
carrots 153, 156
cars: biofuel for 240, 241; costs of 24, 252; efficiency of 252; future production 282, 355; hybrid 245; invention of 189, 270, 271; pollution from 17, 242; sport-utility vehicles 45
The Rational Optimist 424
Carson, Rachel 152, 297–8
Carter, Jimmy 238
Carthage 169, 170, 173
Cartwright, Edmund 221, 263
Castro, Fidel 187
Catalhoyuk 127
catallaxy 56, 355–9
Catholicism 105, 208, 306
cattle 122, 132, 145, 147, 148, 150, 197, 321, 336; see also beef
Caucasus 237
cave paintings 2, 68, 73, 76–7
Cavendish, Henry 221
cement 283
central heating 16, 37
cereals 124–5, 125–6, 130–31, 143–4, 146–7, 158, 163; global harvests 121
Champlain, Samuel 138–9
charcoal 131, 216, 229, 230, 346
charitable giving 92, 105, 106, 295, 318–19, 356
Charles V: king of Spain 30–31; Holy Roman Emperor 184
Charles, Prince of Wales 291, 332
Chauvet Cave, France 2, 68, 73, 76–7
Chernobyl 283, 308, 345, 421
Chicago World Fair (1893) 346
chickens 122–3, 145–6, 147, 148, 408
chickpeas 125
Childe, Gordon 162
children: child labour 104, 188, 218, 220, 292; child molestation 104; childcare 2, 62–3; childhood diseases 310; mortality rates 14, 15, 16, 208–9, 284
Chile 187
chimpanzees 2, 3, 4, 6, 29, 59–60, 87, 88, 97
China: agriculture 123, 126, 148, 152, 220; birth rate 15, 200–201; coal supplies 229–30; Cultural Revolution 14, 201; diet 241; economic growth and industrialisation 17, 109, 180–81, 187, 201, 219, 220, 281–2, 300, 322, 324–5, 328, 358; economic and technological regression 180, 181–2, 193, 229–30, 255, 321, 357–8; energy use 245; income equality 19; innovations 181, 251; life expectancy 15; Longshan culture 397; Maoism 16, 187, 296, 311; Ming empire 117, 181–4, 260, 311; per capita income 15, 180; prehistoric 68, 123, 126; serfdom 181–2; Shang dynasty 166; Song dynasty 180–81; trade 172, 174–5, 177, 179, 183–4, 187, 225, 228
chlorine 296
cholera 40, 310
Chomsky, Noam 291
Christianity 172, 357, 358, 396; see also Catholicism; Church of England; monasteries
Christmas 134
Chumash people 62, 92–3
Church of England 194
Churchill, Sir Winston 288
Cicero 173
Cilicia 173
Cisco Systems (corporation) 268
Cistercians 215
civil rights movement 108, 109
Clairvaux Abbey 215
Clark, Colin 146, 227
Clark, Gregory 193, 201, 401, 404
Clarke, Arthur C. 354
climate change 328–47, 426–30; costs of mitigation measures 330–32, 333, 338, 342–4; death rates associated with 335–7; and ecological dynamism 250, 329–30, 335, 339; and economic growth 315, 331–3, 341–3, 347; effects on ecosystems 338–41; and food supply 337–8; and fossil fuels 243, 314, 342, 346, 426; historic 194, 195, 329, 334, 426–7; pessimism about 280, 281, 314–15, 328–9; prehistoric 54, 65, 125, 127, 130, 160, 329, 334, 339, 340, 352; scepticism about 111, 329–30, 426; solutions to 8, 315, 345–7
Clinton, Bill 341
Clippinger, John 99
cloth trade 75, 159, 160, 165, 172, 177, 180, 194, 196, 225, 225–9, 232
clothes: Britain 224, 225, 227; early homo sapiens 71, 73; Inuits 64; metal age 122; Tasmanian natives 78
clothing prices 20, 34, 37, 40, 227, 228
‘Club of Rome’ 302–3
coal: and economic take-off 201, 202, 213, 214, 216–17; and generation of electricity 233, 237, 239, 240, 304, 344; and industrialisation 229–33, 236, 407; prices 230, 232, 237; supplies 302–3
coal mining 132, 230–31, 237, 239, 257, 343
Coalbrookdale 407
Cobb, Kelly 35
Coca-Cola (corporation) 111, 263
coffee 298–9, 392
Cohen, Mark 135
Cold War 299
collective intelligence 5, 38–9, 46, 56, 83, 350–52, 355–6
Collier, Paul 315, 316–17
colonialism 160, 161, 187, 321–2; see also imperialism
Colorado 324
Columbus, Christopher 91, 184
combine harvesters 158, 392
combined-cycle turbines 244, 410
commerce see trade
Commoner, Barry 402
communism 106, 336
Compaq (corporation) 259
computer games 273, 292
computers 2, 3, 5, 211, 252, 260, 261, 263–4, 268, 282; computing power costs 24; information storage capacities 276; silicon chips 245, 263, 267–8; software 99, 257, 272–3, 304, 356; Y2K bug 280, 290, 341; see also internet
Confucius 2, 181
Congo 14–15, 28, 307, 316
Congreve, Sir William 221
Connelly, Matthew 204
conservation, nature 324, 339; see also wilderness land, expansion of conservatism 109
Constantinople 175, 177
consumer spending, average 39–40
containerisation 113, 253, 386
continental drift 274
contraception 208, 210; coerced 203–4
Cook, Captain James 91
cooking 4, 29, 38, 50, 51, 52, 55, 60–61, 64, 163, 337
copper 122, 123, 131–2, 160, 162, 164, 165, 168, 213, 223, 302, 303
copyright 264, 266–7, 326
coral reefs 250, 339–40, 429–30
Cordoba 177
corn laws 185–6
Cornwall 132
corporations 110–116, 355; research and development budgets 260, 262, 269
Cosmides, Leda 57
Costa Rica 338
cotton 37, 108, 149, 151–2, 162, 163, 171, 172, 202, 225–9, 230, 407; calico 225–6, 232; spinning and weaving 184, 214, 217, 219–20, 227–8, 232, 256, 258, 263, 283
Coughlin, Father Charles 109
Craigslist (website) 273, 356
Crapper, Thomas 38
Crathis river 171
creationists 358
creative destruction 114, 356
credit cards 251, 254
credit crunch (2008) 8–10, 28–9, 31, 100, 102, 316, 355, 399, 411
Cree Indians 62
Crete 167, 169
Crichton, Michael 254
Crick, Francis 412
crime: cyber-crime 99–100, 357; falling rates 106, 201; false convictions 19–20; homicide 14, 20, 85, 88, 106, 118, 201; illegal drugs 106, 186; pessimism about 288, 293
Crimea 171
crocodiles, deaths by 40
Crompton, Samuel 227
Crookes, Sir William 140, 141
cruelty 104, 106, 138–9, 146
crusades 358
Cuba 187, 299
‘curse of resources’ 31, 320
cyber-crime 99–100, 357
Cyprus 132, 148, 167, 168
Cyrus the Great 169

Dalkon Shield (contraceptive device) 203
Dalton, John 221
Damascus 127
Damerham, Wiltshire 194
Danube, River 128, 132
Darby, Abraham 407
Darfur 302, 353
Dark Ages 164, 175–6, 215
Darwin, Charles 77, 81, 91–2, 105, 116, 350, 415
Darwin, Erasmus 256
Darwinism 5
Davy, Sir Humphry 221, 412
Dawkins, Richard 5, 51
DDT (pesticide) 297–8, 299
de Geer, Louis 184
de Soto, Hernando 323, 324, 325
de Waal, Frans 88
Dean, James 110
decimal system 173, 178
deer 32–3, 122
deflation 24
Defoe, Daniel 224
deforestation, predictions of 304–5, 339
Delhi 189
Dell (corporation) 268
Dell, Michael 264
demographic transition 206–212, 316, 328, 402
Denmark 200, 344, 366; National Academy of Sciences 280
Dennett, Dan 350
dentistry 45
depression (psychological) 8, 156
depressions (economic) 3, 31, 32, 186–7, 192, 289; see also economic crashes
deserts, expanding 28, 280
Detroit 315, 355
Dhaka 189
diabetes 156, 274, 306
Diamond, Jared 293–4, 380
diamonds 320, 322
Dickens, Charles 220
Diesel, Rudolf 146
Digital Equipment Corporation 260, 282
digital photography 114, 386
Dimawe, battle of (1852) 321
Diocletian, Roman emperor 175, 184
Diodorus 169
diprotodons 69
discount merchandising 112–14
division of labour: Adam Smith on vii, 80; and catallaxy 56; and fragmented government 172; in insects 75–6, 87–8; and population growth 211; by sex 61–5, 136, 376; and specialisation 7, 33, 38, 46, 61, 76–7, 175; among strangers and enemies 87–9; and trust 100; and urbanisation 164
DNA: forensic use 20; gene transfer 153
dogs 43, 56, 61, 84, 125
Doll, Richard 298
Dolphin, HMS 169
dolphins 3, 87
Domesday Book 215
Doriot, Georges 261
‘dot-communism’ 356
Dover Castle 197
droughts: modern 241, 300, 334; prehistoric 54, 65, 334
drug crime 106, 186
DuPont (corporation) 31
dyes 167, 225, 257, 263
dynamos 217, 233–4, 271–2, 289
dysentery 157, 353

eagles 17, 239, 299, 409
East India Company 225, 226
Easter Island 380
Easterbrook, Greg 294, 300, 370
Easterlin, Richard 26
Easterly, William 318, 411
eBay (corporation) 21, 99, 100, 114, 115
Ebla, Syria 164
Ebola virus 307
economic booms 9, 29, 216
economic crashes 7–8, 9, 193; credit crunch (2008) 8–10, 28–9, 31, 100, 102, 316, 355, 399, 411; see also depressions (economic)
ecosystems, dynamism of 250–51, 303, 410
Ecuador 87
Edinburgh Review 285
Edison, Thomas 234, 246, 272, 412
education: Africa 320; Japan 16; measuring value of 117; and population control 209, 210; universal access 106, 235; women and 209, 210
Edwards, Robert 306
Eemian interglacial period 52–3
Egypt: ancient 161, 166, 167, 170, 171, 192, 193, 197, 270, 334; Mamluk 182; modern 142, 154, 192, 301, 323; prehistoric 44, 45, 125, 126; Roman 174, 175, 178
Ehrenreich, Barbara 291
Ehrlich, Anne 203, 301–2
Ehrlich, Paul 143, 190, 203, 207, 301–2, 303
electric motors 271–2, 283
electricity 233–5, 236, 237, 245–6, 337, 343–4; costs 23; dynamos 217, 233–4, 271–2, 289
elephants 51, 54, 69, 303, 321
Eliot, T.S. 289
email 292
emigration 199–200, 202; see also migrations empathy 94–8
empires, trading 160–61; see also imperialism enclosure acts 226, 323, 406
endocrine disruptors 293
Engels, Friedrich 107–8, 136
England: agriculture 194–6, 215; infant mortality 284; law 118; life expectancy 13, 284; medieval population 194–7; per capita income 196; scientific revolution 255–7; trade 75, 89, 104, 106, 118, 169, 194; see also Britain
Enron (corporation) 29, 111, 385
Erie, Lake 17
Erie Canal 139, 283
ethanol 240–42, 300
Ethiopia 14, 316, 319; prehistoric 52, 53, 129
eugenics 288, 329
Euphrates river 127, 158, 161, 167, 177
evolution, biological 5, 6, 7, 49–50, 55–6, 75, 271, 350
Ewald, Paul 309
exchange: etiquette and ritual of 133–4; and innovation 71–2, 76, 119, 167–8, 251, 269–74; and pre-industrial economies 133–4; and property rights 324–5; and rule of law 116, 117–18; and sexual division of labour 65; and specialisation 7, 10, 33, 35, 37–8, 46, 56, 58, 75, 90, 132–3, 350–52, 355, 358–9; and trust 98–100, 103, 104; as unique human trait 56–60; and virtue 100–104; see also bartering; markets; trade
executions 104
extinctions 17, 43, 64, 68, 69–70, 243, 293, 302, 338–9
Exxon (corporation) 111, 115
eye colour 129
Ezekiel 167, 168

Facebook (website) 262, 268, 356
factories 160, 214, 218, 219–20, 221, 223, 256, 258–9, 284–5
falcons 299
family formation 195, 209–210, 211, 227
famines: modern 141, 143, 154, 199, 203, 302; pessimism about 280, 281, 284, 290, 300–302, 314; pre-industrial 45, 139, 195, 197
Faraday, Michael 271–2
Fargione, Joseph 242
farming: battery 104, 145–6; free-range 146, 308; intensive 143–9; organic 147, 149–52, 393; slash-and-burn 87, 129, 130; subsidies 188, 328; subsistence 87, 138, 175–6, 189, 192, 199–200; see also agriculture; food supply
fascism 289
Fauchart, Emmanuelle 264
fax machines 252
Feering, Essex 195
Fehr, Ernst 94–6
female emancipation 107, 108–9, 209
feminism 109
Ferguson, Adam 1
Ferguson, Niall 85
Fermat’s Last Theorem 275
fermenting 130, 241
Ferranti, Sebastian de 234
Fertile Crescent 126, 251
fertilisation, in-vitro 306
fertilisers 32, 129, 135, 139–41, 142, 143, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149–50, 152, 155, 200, 337
Fibonacci 178
figs 125, 129
filariasis 310
Finland 15, 35, 261
fire, invention of 4, 50, 51, 52, 60, 274
First World War 289, 309
fish, sex-change 280, 293
fish farming 148, 155
fishing 62, 63–4, 71, 78–9, 81–2, 125, 127, 129, 136, 159, 162, 163, 327
Fishman, Charles 113
Flanders 179, 181, 194
flight, powered 257, 261, 264, 266
Flinders Island 81, 84
floods 128, 250, 329, 331, 334, 335, 426
Florence 89, 103, 115, 178
flowers, cut 42, 327, 328
flu, pandemic 28, 145–6, 308–310
Flynn, James 19
Fontaine, Hippolyte 233–4
food aid 28, 141, 154, 203
food miles 41–2, 353, 392; see also local sourcing
food preservation 139, 145, 258
food prices 20, 22, 23, 34, 39, 40, 42, 240, 241, 300
food processing 29–30, 60–61, 145; see also baking; cooking
food retailing 36, 112, 148, 268; see also supermarkets
food sharing 56, 59–60, 64
food supply: and biofuels 240–41, 243, 300; and climate change 337–8; and industrialisation 139, 201–2; pessimism about 280, 281, 284, 290, 300–302; and population growth 139, 141, 143–4, 146–7, 192, 206, 208–9, 300–302
Ford, Ford Maddox 188
Ford, Henry 24, 114, 189, 271
Forester, Jay 303
forests, fears of depletion 304–5, 339
fossil fuels: and ecology 237, 240, 304, 315, 342–3, 345–6; fertilisers 143, 150, 155, 237; and industrialisation 214, 216–17, 229–33, 352; and labour saving 236–7; and productivity 244–5; supplies 216–17, 229–30, 237–8, 245, 302–3; see also charcoal; coal; gas, natural; oil; peat
Fourier analysis 283
FOXP2 (gene) 55, 375
fragmentation, political 170–73, 180–81, 184, 185
France: capital markets 259; famine 197; infant mortality 16; population growth 206, 208; revolution 324; trade 184, 186, 222
Franco, Francisco 186
Frank, Robert 95–6
Franken, Al 291
Franklin, Benjamin 107, 256
Franks 176
Fray Bentos 186
free choice 27–8, 107–110, 291–2
free-range farming 146, 308
French Revolution 324
Friedel, Robert 224
Friedman, Milton 111
Friend, Sir Richard 257
Friends of the Earth 154, 155
Fry, Art 261
Fuji (corporation) 114, 386
Fujian, China 89, 183
fur trade 169, 180
futurology 354–5

Gadir (Cadiz) 168–9, 170
Gaelic language 129
Galbraith, J.K. 16
Galdikas, Birute 60
Galilee, Sea of 124
Galileo 115
Gandhi, Indira 203, 204
Gandhi, Sanjay 203–4
Ganges, River 147, 172
gas, natural 235, 236, 237, 240, 302, 303, 337
Gates, Bill 106, 264, 268
GDP per capita (world), increases in 11, 349
Genentech (corporation) 259, 405
General Electric Company 261, 264
General Motors (corporation) 115
generosity 86–7, 94–5
genetic research 54, 151, 265, 306–7, 310, 356, 358
genetically modified (GM) crops 28, 32, 148, 151–6, 283, 358
Genghis Khan 182
Genoa 89, 169, 178, 180
genome sequencing 265
geothermal power 246, 344
Germany: Great Depression (1930s) 31; industrialisation 202; infant mortality 16; Nazism 109, 289; population growth 202; predicted deforestation 304, 305; prehistoric 70, 138; trade 179–80, 187; see also West Germany
Ghana 187, 189, 316, 326
Gibraltar, Strait of 180
gift giving 87, 92, 133, 134
Gilbert, Daniel 4
Gilgamesh, King 159
Ginsberg, Allen 110
Gintis, Herb 86
Gladstone, William 237
Glaeser, Edward 190
Glasgow 315
glass 166, 174–5, 177, 259
glass fibre 303
Global Humanitarian Forum 337
global warming see climate change globalisation 290, 358
‘glorious revolution’ (1688) 223
GM (genetically modified) crops 28, 148, 151–6, 283, 358
goats 122, 126, 144, 145, 197, 320
Goethe, Johann von 104
Goklany, Indur 143–4, 341, 426
gold 165, 177, 303
golden eagles 239, 409
golden toads 338
Goldsmith, Edward 291
Google (corporation) 21, 100, 114, 259, 260, 268, 355
Gore, Al 233, 291
Goths 175
Gott, Richard 294
Gramme, Zénobe Théophile 233–4
Grantham, George 401
gravity, discovery of 258
Gray, John 285, 291
Great Barrier Reef 250
Greece: ancient 115, 128, 161, 170–71, 173–4; modern 186
greenhouse gases 152, 155, 242, 329; see also carbon dioxide emissions
Greenland: ice cap 125, 130, 313, 334, 339, 426; Inuits 61; Norse 380
Greenpeace 154, 155, 281, 385
Grottes des Pigeons, Morocco 53
Groves, Leslie 412
Growth is Good for the Poor (World Bank study) 317
guano 139–40, 302
Guatemala 209
Gujarat 162, 174
Gujaratis 89
Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden 184
Gutenberg, Johann 184, 253
Guth, Werner 86

habeas corpus 358
Haber, Fritz 140, 412
Hadza people 61, 63, 87
Haiti 14, 301, 315
Halaf people 130
Hall, Charles Martin 24
Halley, Edmond 256
HANPP (human appropriation of net primary productivity) number 144–5
Hanseatic merchants 89, 179–80, 196
Hansen, James 426
hanta virus 307
happiness 25–8, 191
Harappa, Indus valley 161–2
Hardin, Garrett 203
harems 136
Hargreaves, James 227, 256
Harlem, Holland 215–16
Harper’s Weekly 23
Harvey, William 256
hay 214–15, 216, 239, 408–9
Hayek, Friedrich 5, 19, 38, 56, 250, 280, 355
heart disease 18, 156, 295
‘hedonic treadmill’ 27
height, average human 16, 18
Heller, Michael 265–6
Hellespont 128, 170
Henrich, Joe 77, 377
Henry II, King of England 118
Henry, Joseph 271, 272
Henry, William 221
Heraclitus 251
herbicides 145, 152, 153–4
herding 130–31
Hero of Alexandria 270
Herschel, Sir William 221
Hesiod 292
Hippel, Eric von 273
hippies 26, 110, 175
Hiroshima 283
Hitler, Adolf 16, 184, 296
Hittites 166, 167
HIV/AIDS 8, 14, 307–8, 310, 316, 319, 320, 322, 331, 353
Hiwi people 61
Hobbes, Thomas 96
Hock, Dee 254
Hohle Fels, Germany 70
Holdren, John 203, 207, 311
Holland: agriculture 153; golden age 185, 201, 215–16, 223; horticulture 42; industrialisation 215–16, 226; innovations 264; trade 31, 89, 104, 106, 185, 223, 328
Holy Roman Empire 178, 265–6
Homer 2, 102, 168
Homestead Act (1862) 323
homicide 14, 20, 85, 88, 106, 118, 201
Homo erectus 49, 68, 71, 373
Homo heidelbergensis 49, 50–52, 373
Homo sapiens, emergence of 52–3
Hong Kong 31, 83, 158, 169, 187, 219, 328
Hongwu, Chinese emperor 183
Hood, Leroy 222, 405
Hooke, Robert 256
horses 48, 68, 69, 129, 140, 197, 215, 282, 408–9; shoes and harnesses 176, 215
housing costs 20, 25, 34, 39–40, 234, 368
Hoxha, Enver 187
Hrdy, Sarah 88
Huber, Peter 244, 344
Hueper, Wilhelm 297
Huguenots 184
Huia (birds) 64
human sacrifice 104
Hume, David 96, 103, 104, 170
humour 2
Hunan 177
Hungary 222
Huns 175
hunter-gatherers: consumption and production patterns 29–30, 123; division of labour 61–5, 76, 136; famines 45, 139; limitations of band size 77; modern societies 66–7, 76, 77–8, 80, 87, 135–6, 136–7; nomadism 130; nostalgia for life of 43–5, 135, 137; permanent settlements 128; processing of food 29, 38, 61; technological regress 78–84; trade 72, 77–8, 81, 92–3, 123, 136–7; violence and warfare 27, 44–5, 136, 137
hunting 61–4, 68–70, 125–6, 130, 339
Huron Indians 138–9
hurricanes 329, 335, 337
Hurst, Blake 152
Hutterites 211
Huxley, Aldous 289, 354
hydroelectric power 236, 239, 343, 344, 409
hyenas 43, 50, 54

IBM (corporation) 260, 261, 282
Ibn Khaldun 182
ice ages 52, 127, 329, 335, 340, 388
ice caps 125, 130, 313, 314, 334, 338–9, 426
Iceland 324
Ichaboe island 140
‘idea-agora’ 262
imitation 4, 5, 6, 50, 77, 80
imperialism 104, 162, 164, 166, 172, 182, 319–20, 357; see also colonialism
in-vitro fertilisation 306
income, per capita: and economic freedom 117; equality 18–19, 218–19; increases in 14, 15, 16–17, 218–19, 285, 331–2
India: agriculture 126, 129, 141, 142–3, 147, 151–2, 156, 301; British rule 160; caste system 173; economic growth 187, 358; energy use 245; income equality 19; infant mortality 16; innovations 172–3, 251; Mauryan empire 172–3, 201, 357; mobile phone use 327; population growth 202, 203–4; prehistoric 66, 126, 129; trade 174–5, 175, 179, 186–7, 225, 228, 232; urbanisation 189
Indian Ocean 174, 175
Indonesia 66, 87, 89, 177
Indus river 167
Indus valley civilisation 161–2, 164
industrialisation: and capital investment 258–9; and end of slavery 197, 214; and food production 139, 201–2; and fossil fuels 214, 216–17, 229–33, 352; and innovation 38, 220–24, 227–8; and living standards 217–20, 226–7, 258; pessimistic views of 42, 102–3, 217–18, 284–5; and productivity 227–8, 230–31, 232, 235–6, 244–5; and science 255–8; and trade 224–6; and urbanisation 188, 226–7
infant mortality 14, 15, 16, 208–9, 284
inflation 24, 30, 169, 289
influenza see flu, pandemic
Ingleheart, Ronald 27
innovation: and capital investment 258–62, 269; and exchange 71–2, 76, 119, 167–8, 251, 269–74; and government spending programmes 267–9; increasing returns of 248–55, 274–7, 346, 354, 358–9; and industrialisation 38, 220–24, 227–8; and intellectual property 262–7, 269; limitlessness 374–7; and population growth 252; and productivity 227–8; and science 255–8, 412; and specialisation 56, 71–2, 73–4, 76–7, 119, 251; and trade 168, 171
insect-resistant crops 154–5
insecticides 151–2
insects 75–6, 87–8
insulin 156, 274
Intel (corporation) 263, 268
intellectual property 262–7; see also copyright; patents intensive farming 143–9
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 330, 331, 332, 333–4, 338, 342, 347, 425, 426, 427, 428
internal combustion engine 140, 146, 244
International Planned Parenthood Foundation 203
internet: access to 253, 268; blogging 257; and charitable giving 318–19, 356; cyber-crime 99–100, 357; development of 263, 268, 270, 356; email 292; free exchange 105, 272–3, 356; packet switching 263; problem-solving applications 261–2; search engines 245, 256, 267; shopping 37, 99, 107, 261; social networking websites 262, 268, 356; speed of 252, 253; trust among users 99–100, 356; World Wide Web 273, 356
Inuits 44, 61, 64, 126
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 330, 331, 332, 333–4, 338, 342, 347, 349, 425, 426, 427, 428
IQ levels 19
Iran 162
Iraq 31, 158, 161
Ireland 24, 129, 199, 227
iron 166, 167, 169, 181, 184, 223, 229, 230, 302, 407
irradiated food 150–51
irrigation 136, 147–8, 159, 161, 163, 198, 242, 281
Isaac, Glyn 64
Isaiah 102, 168
Islam 176, 357, 358
Israel 53, 69, 124, 148
Israelites 168
Italy: birth rate 208; city states 178–9, 181, 196; fascism 289; Greek settlements 170–71, 173–4; infant mortality 15; innovations 196, 251; mercantilism 89, 103, 178–9, 180, 196; prehistoric 69
ivory 70, 71, 73, 167

Jacob, François 7
Jacobs, Jane 128
Jamaica 149
James II, King 223
Japan: agriculture 197–8; birth rates 212; dictatorship 109; economic development 103, 322, 332; economic and technological regression 193, 197–9, 202; education 16; happiness 27; industrialisation 219; life expectancy 17, 31; trade 31, 183, 184, 187, 197
Jarawa tribe 67
Java 187
jealousy 2, 351
Jebel Sahaba cemeteries, Egypt 44, 45
Jefferson, Thomas 247, 249, 269
Jenner, Edward 221
Jensen, Robert 327
Jericho 127, 138
Jevons, Stanley 213, 237, 245
Jews 89, 108, 177–8, 184
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan 25–6
Jobs, Steve 221, 264, 405
John, King of England 118
Johnson, Lyndon 202–3
Jones, Rhys 79
Jordan 148, 167
Jordan river 127
Joyce, James 289
justice 19–20, 116, 320, 358

Kalahari desert 44, 61, 76
Kalkadoon aborigines 91
Kanesh, Anatolia 165
Kangaroo Island 81
kangaroos 62, 63, 69–70, 84, 127
Kant, Immanuel 96
Kaplan, Robert 293
Kay, John 184, 227
Kazakhstan 206
Kealey, Terence 172, 255, 411
Kelly, Kevin 356
Kelvin, William Thomson, 1st Baron 412
Kenya 42, 87, 155, 209, 316, 326, 336, 353
Kerala 327
Kerouac, Jack 110
Khoisan people 54, 61, 62, 67, 116, 321
Kim Il Sung 187
King, Gregory 218
Kingdon, Jonathan 67
Kinneret, Lake 124
Klasies River 83
Klein, Naomi 291
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (venture capitalists) 259
knowledge, increasing returns of 248–50, 274–7
Kodak (corporation) 114, 386
Kohler, Hans-Peter 212
Korea 184, 197, 300; see also North Korea; South Korea
Kuhn, Steven 64, 69
kula (exchange system) 134
!Kung people 44, 135, 136–7
Kuznets curve 106
Kwakiutl people 92

Lagos 322
Lagrange Point 346
lakes, acidification of 305–6
Lamalera people 87
Lancashire 214, 217, 232, 263
Landes, David 223, 406
Lang, Tim 392
language: and exchange 58; genes for 55; Indo-European 129; and isolationism 73; Neanderthals 4, 55; numbers of languages 73; as unique human development 4
Laos 209
lapis lazuli 162, 164
Lascaux caves, France 6
lasers 272
Lassa fever 307
Laurion, Attica 171
Law, John 29, 259
Lawson, Nigel, Baron 331
Lay, Ken 29, 385
Layard, Richard 25
lead 167, 174, 177, 213
Leadbetter, Charles 290
Leahy, Michael 92
leather 70, 122, 167, 176
Lebanon 167
LeBlanc, Steven 137
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 21–2
lentils 129
Leonardo da Vinci 196, 251
Levy, Stephen 355
Liang Ying (farm worker) 220
liberalism 108, 109–110, 290
Liberia 14, 316
libertarianism 106
Libya 171
lice 68
lichen 75
life expectancy: in Africa 14, 316, 422; in Britain 13, 15, 284; improvements in 12, 14, 15, 17–18, 205, 284, 287, 298, 316; in United States 298; world averages 47
Life (magazine) 304
light, artificial 13, 16, 17, 20–22, 37, 233, 234, 240, 245, 272, 368
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 21–2
Limits to Growth (report) 303–4, 420
Lindsey, Brink 102, 109
linen 216, 218
lions 43, 87
literacy 106, 201, 290, 353, 396
Liverpool 62, 283
local sourcing (of goods) 35, 41–2, 149, 392; see also food miles
Locke, John 96
Lodygin, Alexander 272
Lombardy 178, 196
Lomborg, Björn 280
London 12, 116, 186, 199, 218, 222, 282; as financial centre 259
longitude, measurement of 261
Longshan culture 397
Los Angeles 17, 142
Lothal, Indus valley 162, 164
Louis XI, King of France 184
Louis XIV, King of France 36, 37, 38, 184, 259
Lowell, Francis Cabot 263
Lübeck 180
Lucca 178, 179
Lunar Society 256
Luther, Martin 102
Luxembourg 331
Lyon 184

Macao 183
MacArthur, General Douglas 141
Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 1st Baron 11, 285–7, 359
McCloskey, Deirdre 109, 366–7
Mace, Ruth 73
McEwan, Ian 47
Machiguenga people 87
MacKay, David 342
McKendrick, Neil 224
McKibben, Bill 293
Macmillan, Harold, 1st Earl of Stockton 16
McNamara, Robert 203
mad-cow disease (vCJD) 280, 308
Madagascar 70, 299
Maddison, Angus 180
Maddox, John 207
Madoff, Bernard 28–9
Maghribis 178, 180
magnesium 213
maize 126, 146–7, 153, 155, 156, 163; for biofuel 240, 241
malaria 135, 157, 275, 299, 310, 318, 319, 331, 336, 353, 428, 429
Malawi 40–41, 132, 316, 318
Malawi, Lake 54
Malay Peninsula 66
Malaysia 35, 89, 242, 332
Mali 316, 326
Malinowski, Bronislaw 134
malnutrition 154, 156, 337
Maltese Falcon, The (film) 86
Malthus, Robert 139, 140, 146, 191, 249, 303
Malthusianism 141, 193, 196, 200, 202, 401
mammoths 68, 69, 71, 73, 302
Manchester 214, 218, 283
Mandell, Lewis 254
manganese 150, 213
mangoes 156, 327, 392
Manhattan 83
manure 147, 150, 198, 200, 282
Mao Zedong 16, 187, 262, 296, 311
Marchetti, Cesare 345–6
Marcuse, Herbert 291
Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France 199
markets (in capital and assets) 9, 258–60
markets (in goods and services): and collective betterment 9–10, 36–9, 103–110, 115–16, 281; disdain for 102–3, 104, 291–2, 358; etiquette and ritual of 133–4; and generosity 86–7; global interdependence 42–3; market failure 182, 250; ‘perfect markets’ 249–50; and population control 210–211; and preindustrial economies 133–4; and trust 98–100, 103; and virtue 100–104, 105; see also bartering; exchange; trade
Marne, River 234
Martu aborigines 62
Marx, Karl 102, 104, 107–8, 291, 406
Marxism 101, 217–18, 319, 356
Maskelyne, Nevil 221
Maudslay, Henry 221
Mauritius 187, 316
Mauryan empire 172–3, 201, 357
Maxwell, James Clerk 412
measles 14, 135, 310
meat eating 51, 60, 62, 68–9, 126, 147, 156, 241, 376
Mecca 177
Mediterranean Sea: prehistoric settlements 56, 68–9, 159; trade 89, 164, 167–8, 169, 171, 176, 178
meerkats 87
Mehrgarh, Baluchistan 162
Mehta, Suketa 189
Meissen 185
memes 5
Menes, Pharaoh of Egypt 161
mercury 183, 213, 237
Mersey, River 62
Merzbach valley, Germany 138
Mesopotamia 38, 115, 158–61, 163, 177, 193, 251, 357; see also Assyrian empire; Iraq metal prices, reductions in 213
Metaxas, Ioannis 186
methane 140, 329, 345
Mexico: agriculture 14, 123, 126, 142, 387; emigration to United States 117; hurricanes 335; life expectancy 15; nature conservation 324; swine flu 309
Mexico City 190
Meyer, Warren 281
Mezherich, Ukraine 71
mice 55, 125
Michelangelo 115
Microsoft (corporation) 24, 260, 268, 273
migrations: early human 66–70, 82; rural to urban 158, 188–9, 210, 219–20, 226–7, 231, 406; see also emigration
Milan 178, 184
Miletus 170–71
milk 22, 55, 97, 135
Mill, John Stuart 34, 103–4, 108, 249, 274, 276, 279
Millennium Development goals 316
Miller, Geoffrey 44, 274
millet 126
Mills, Mark 244
Ming empire 117, 181–4, 260, 311
Minoan civilisation 166
Mississippi Company 29
Mittal, Lakshmi 268
mobile phones 37, 252, 257, 261, 265, 267, 297, 326–7
Mohamed (prophet) 176
Mohawk Indians 138–9
Mohenjo-Daro, Indus valley 161–2
Mojave Desert 69
Mokyr, Joel 197, 252, 257, 411, 412
monarchies 118, 162, 172, 222
monasteries 176, 194, 215, 252
Monbiot, George 291, 311, 426
money: development of 71, 132, 392; ‘trust inscribed’ 85
Mongolia 230
Mongols 161, 181, 182
monkeys 3, 57, 59, 88; capuchins 96–7, 375
monopolies 107, 111, 166, 172, 182
monsoon 174
Montesquieu, Charles, Baron de 103
moon landing 268–9, 275
Moore, Gordon 221, 405
Moore, Michael 291
Morgan, J.P. 100
Mormonism 205
Morocco 53, 209
Morse, Samuel 272
mortgages 25, 29, 30, 323; sub-prime 296
Moses 138
mosquito nets 318
‘most favoured nation’ principle 186
Moyo, Dambisa 318
Mozambique 132, 316
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 267
Mugabe, Robert 262
Mumbai 189, 190
murder 14, 20, 85, 88, 106, 118, 201
Murrays’ Mills, Manchester 214
music 70, 115, 266–7, 326
Myceneans 166

Nairobi 322
Namibia 209, 324
Napoleon I 184
NASA 269
Nashville 326
Nassarius shells 53, 56, 65
National Food Service 268
National Health Service 111, 261
nationalisation (of industry) 166, 182
nationalism 357
native Americans 62, 92–3, 138–9
Natufians 125
natural selection 5–6, 27, 49–50, 350
nature conservation 324, 339; see also wilderness land, expansion of
Neanderthals 3, 4, 53, 55, 64, 65, 68, 71, 79, 373, 378
Nebuchadnezzar 169
needles 43, 70
Nehru, Jawaharlal 187
Nelson, Richard 5
Nepal 15, 209
Netscape (corporation) 259
New Deal 109
New Guinea: agriculture 123, 126, 387; languages 73; malaria 336; prehistoric 66, 123, 126; tribes 87, 92, 138
New York 12, 16, 83, 169, 190
New York Times 23, 295, 305
New Zealand 17, 35, 42, 70
Newcomen, Thomas 244, 256
newspapers 270, 295; licensing copyrights 267
Newsweek (magazine) 329
Newton, Sir Isaac 116, 256
nickel 34, 213
Niger 208–9, 210, 324
Nigeria 15, 31, 99, 117, 210, 236, 316
Nike (corporation) 115, 188
Nile, River 161, 164, 167, 171
nitrogen fertlisers 140, 146, 147, 149–50, 155, 305
nitrous oxide 155
Nobel Peace Prize 143, 280
‘noble savage’ 43–4, 135–8
Norberg, Johann 187
Nordau, Max 288
Nordhaus, William 331
Norte Chico civilisation 162–3
North, Douglass 324, 397
North Carolina 219–20
North Korea 15, 116–17, 187, 333
North Sea 180, 185
North Sentinel islanders 67
Northern Rock (bank) 9
Northumberland 407
Norton, Seth 211
Norway 97–8, 332, 344
Norwich 225
nostalgia 12–13, 44, 135, 189, 284–5, 292
Novgorod 180
Noyce, Robert 221, 405
nuclear accidents 283, 293–4, 308, 345, 421
nuclear power 37, 236, 238, 239, 245, 246, 343, 344, 345
nuclear war, threat of 280, 290, 299–300, 333

Obama, Barack 203
obesity 8, 156, 296, 337
obsidian 53, 92, 127
occupational safety 106–7
ocean acidification 280, 340–41
ochre 52, 53, 54, 92
octopi 3
Oersted, Hans Christian 272
Oetzi (mummified ‘iceman’) 122–3, 132–3, 137
Ofek, Haim 131
Ohalo II (archaeological site) 124
oil: and ‘curse of resources’ 31, 320; drilling and refining 242, 343; and generation of electricity 239; manufacture of plastics and synthetics 237, 240; pollution 293–4, 385; prices 23, 238; supplies 149, 237–8, 280, 281, 282, 296, 302–3
old age, quality of life in 18
olive oil 167, 169, 171
Olson, Ken 282
Omidyar, Pierre 99
onchoceriasis 310
open-source software 99, 272–3, 356
Orang Asli people 66
orang-utans 60, 239, 339
organic farming 147, 149–52, 393
Orinoco tar shales, Venezuela 238
Orma people 87
ornament, personal 43, 52, 53, 54, 70, 71, 73
O’Rourke, P.J. 157
Orwell, George 253, 290, 354
Ostia 174
otters 297, 299
Otto I, Holy Roman emperor 178
Ottoman empire 161
Oued Djebanna, Algeria 53
oxen 130, 136, 195, 197, 214–15
oxytocin (hormone) 94–5, 97–8
ozone layer 280, 296

Paarlberg, Robert 154
Pacific islanders 134
Pacific Ocean 184
Paddock, William and Paul 301
Padgett, John 103
Page, Larry 114
Pagel, Mark 73
Pakistan 142–3, 204, 300
palm oil 57–8, 239, 240, 242, 339
Pan Am (airline) 24
paper 282, 304
Papin, Denis 256
papyrus 171, 175
Paraguay 61
Pareto, Vilfredo 249
Paris 215, 358; electric lighting 233; restaurants 264
parrots 3
Parsons, Sir Charles 234
Parthian empire 161
Pasadena 17
Pataliputra 173
patents 223, 263, 264–6, 269, 271, 413–14
patriarchy 136
Paul, St 102
PayPal (e-commerce business) 262
peacocks 174
peanuts 126
peat 215–16
Peel, Sir Robert 185
Pemberton, John 263
pencils 38
penicillin 258
Pennington, Hugh 308
pensions 29, 40, 106
Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, The 174
Persia 89, 161, 171, 177
Persian Gulf 66, 164, 340, 429
Peru 97–8, 126, 162–3, 320, 387; silver 31, 132, 183–4
pessimism: and belief in turning points in history 287–9, 301, 311; natural pessimism of human nature 294–5; in nineteenth century 283–8; in twentieth century 281, 282, 288–91, 292–4, 296–308, 328–9; in twenty-first century 8–9, 17, 28, 281–2, 291–2, 308–311, 314–15; ubiquity of 280–85, 291–2, 294–7, 341, 352
pesticides 151–2, 154, 155, 336; DDT 297–8, 299; natural 298–9
Peto, Richard 298
Petty, Sir William 185, 199, 254, 256
pharmaceutical industry 260, 266
philanthropy 92, 105, 106, 295, 318–19, 356
Philip II, King of Spain 30–31
Philip II of Macedon 171
Philippines 61–2, 89, 234
Philistines 166, 170, 396
Phillips, Adam 103, 292
Phoenicians 166–70, 177
photography 114, 283, 386
physiocrats 42
pi, calculation of 173
pig farming 135, 145, 148, 197
Pinnacle Point, South Africa 52, 83
Pisa 115, 178
plagues 135, 176, 195–6, 197; forecasts of 280, 284, 307–310; see also Black Death
plastics 237, 240, 270
Plate, River 186
platinum 213
Plato 292
Plautus 44
ploughing 129–30, 136, 145, 150, 195, 197, 198, 215
pneumonia 13, 353
Polanyi, Karl 164–5
polar bears 338–9
polio 261, 275, 310
political fragmentation 170–73, 180–81, 184, 185
pollution: effects on wildlife 17, 297, 299, 339; and industrialisation 218; pessimism about 293–4, 304–6; reduction in 17, 106, 148, 279, 293–4, 297, 299
polygamy 136
Pomeranz, Kenneth 201–2
Ponzi, Charles 29
Ponzi schemes 28–9
population control policies 202–4, 210–211
population growth: and food supply 139, 141, 143–4, 146–7, 192, 206, 208–9; global population totals 3, 12, 14, 191, 206, 332; and industrialisation 201–2; and innovation 252; pessimism about 190, 193, 202–3, 281, 290, 293, 300–302, 314; population explosions 8, 139, 141, 202, 206, 281; and specialisation 192–3, 351; see also birth rates; demographic transition; infant mortality; life expectancy
porcelain 181, 183, 184–5, 225, 251
Porritt, Jonathan 314
Portugal 75, 183, 184, 317, 331
Post-it notes 261
Postrel, Virginia 290–91
potatoes 199
Potrykus, Ingo 154
pottery 77, 158, 159, 163, 168, 177, 225, 251
Pound, Ezra 289
poverty: and charitable giving 106; current levels 12, 15, 16–17, 41, 316, 353–4; and industrialisation 217–20; pessimism about 280, 290, 314–15; reduction in 12, 15, 16–17, 290; and self-sufficiency 42, 132, 200, 202, 226–7; solutions to 8, 187–8, 316–17, 322, 326–8, 353–4
Prebisch, Raul 187
preservatives (in food) 145
Presley, Elvis 110
Priestley, Joseph 256
printing: on paper 181, 251, 252, 253, 272; on textiles 225, 232
prisoner’s dilemma game 96
property rights 130, 223, 226, 320, 321, 323–5
protectionism 186–7, 226
Ptolemy III 171
Pusu-Ken (Assyrian merchant) 165–6
putting out system 226, 227, 230
pygmy people 54, 67
Pythagoras 171

Quarterly Review 284
quasars 275
Quesnay, François 42

racial segregation 108
racism 104, 415
radioactivity 293–4, 345
radios 264–5, 271
railways 252; and agriculture 139, 140–41; opposition to 283–4; speed of 283, 286; travel costs 23
rainforests 144, 149, 150, 240, 243, 250–51, 338
Rajan, Raghuram 317
Rajasthan 162, 164
Ramsay, Gordon 392
rape seed 240
Ratnagar, Shereen 162
ravens 69
Rawls, John 96
Read, Leonard 38
recession, economic 10, 28, 113, 311
reciprocity 57–9, 87, 95, 133
Red Sea 66, 82, 127, 170, 174, 177
Rees, Martin 294
Reformation 253
refrigeration 139
regress, technological 78–84, 125, 181–2, 197–200, 351, 380
Reiter, Paul 336, 428
religion 4, 104, 106, 170, 357, 358, 396; and population control 205, 207–8, 211; see also Buddhism; Christianity; Islam
Rembrandt 116
Renaissance 196
research and development budgets, corporate 260, 262, 269
Research in Motion (company) 265
respiratory disease 18, 307, 310
restaurants 17, 37, 61, 254, 264
Rhine, River 265–6
rhinoceroses 2, 43, 51, 68, 73
Rhodes, Cecil 322
Ricardo, David 75, 169, 187, 193, 196, 249, 274
rice 32, 126, 143, 146–7, 153, 154, 156, 198
Rifkin, Jeremy 306
Riis, Jacob 16
Rio de Janeiro, UN conference (1992) 290
risk aversion 294–5
Rivers, W.H.R. 81
Rivoli, Pietra 220, 228
‘robber-barons’ 23–4, 100, 265–6
Rockefeller, John D. 23, 281
Rocky Mountains 238
Rogers, Alex 340
Roman empire 161, 166, 172, 173–5, 184, 214, 215, 259–60, 357
Rome 158, 175
Romer, Paul 269, 276–7, 328, 354
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 109
Roosevelt, Theodore 288
Rosling, Hans 368
Rothschild, Nathan 89
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 43, 96, 104, 137
Royal Institution 221
rubber 220
rule of law 116–18, 325
Rumford, Benjamin Thompson, Count 221
rural to urban migration 158, 188–9, 210, 219–20, 226–7, 231, 406
Ruskin, John 104
Russia, post-Soviet 14; oil and gas production 31, 37; population decline 205
Russia, prehistoric 71, 73
Russia, Tsarist 216, 229, 324
Rwanda 14, 316
rye 124, 125, 199, 224, 286

Sachs, Jeffrey 208
Saddam Hussein 161
Sahel region 123, 334
Sahlins, Marshall 133, 135
Sahul (landmass) 66, 67
Salisbury, Wiltshire 194
Salk, Jonas 38, 261
salmon 297
Salmon, Cecil 142
saltpetre 140
Sanger, Frederick 412
Sanskrit 129
São Paulo 190, 315
Sargon of Akkad 164
SARS virus 307, 310
satellites 252, 253
satnav (satellite navigation systems) 268
Saudi Arabia 238
Saunders, Peter 102
Schumpeter, Joseph 113–14, 227, 260, 276, 302
science, and innovation 255–8, 412
Scientific American 280
Scotland 103, 199–200, 227, 263, 315
scrub jays 87
scurvy 14, 258
sea level, changes in 128, 314, 333–4
Seabright, Paul 93, 138
seals (for denoting property) 130
search engines 245, 256, 267
Second World War 289
segregation, racial 108
Seine, River 215
self-sufficiency 8, 33–5, 39, 82, 90, 133, 192, 193, 351; and poverty 41–2, 132, 200, 202, 226–7
selfishness 86, 87, 93–4, 96, 102, 103, 104, 106, 292
Sematech (non-profit consortium) 267–8
Sentinelese people 67
serendipity 257, 346
serfs 181–2, 222
serotonin 156, 294
sexism 104, 136
sexual division of labour 61–5, 136, 376
sexual reproduction 2, 6, 7, 45, 56, 271; of ideas 6–7, 270–72
Sforza, house of 184
Shady, Ruth 162
Shakespeare, William 2; The Merchant of Venice 101, 102
Shang dynasty 166
Shapiro, Carl 265
sheep 97, 176, 194, 197
Shell (corporation) 111
shellfish 52, 53, 62, 64, 79, 92, 93, 127, 163, 167
Shennan, Stephen 83, 133
Shermer, Michael 101, 106, 118
ship-building 185, 229; see also boat-building shipping, container 113, 253, 386
Shirky, Clay 356
Shiva, Vandana 156
Siberia 145
Sicily 171, 173, 178
Sidon 167, 170
Siemens, William 234
Sierra Leone 14, 316
Silesia 222
silicon chips 245, 263, 267–8
Silicon Valley 221–2, 224, 257, 258, 259, 268
silk 37, 46, 172, 175, 178, 179, 184, 187, 225
Silk Road 182
silver 31, 132, 164, 165, 167, 168, 169, 171, 177, 183–4, 213
Silver, Lee 122–3
Simon, Julian 83, 280, 303
Singapore 31, 160, 187
Skhul, Israel 53
slash-and-burn farming 87, 130
slave trade 167, 170, 177, 229, 319, 380; abolition 214, 221
slavery 34, 214–15, 216, 407; ancient Greece 171; hunter-gatherer societies 45, 92; Mesopotamia 160; Roman empire 174, 176, 214; United States 216, 228–9, 415; see also anti-slavery
sleeping sickness 310, 319
Slovakia 136
smallpox 13, 14, 135, 310; vaccine 221
smelting 131–2, 160, 230
smiling 2, 94
Smith, Adam 8, 80, 96, 101, 104, 199, 249, 272, 350; Das Adam Smith Problem 93–4; Theory of Moral Sentiments 93; The Wealth of Nations vii, 37–8, 39, 56, 57, 93, 123, 236, 283
Smith, Vernon 9, 90, 192
smoke, indoor 13, 338, 342, 353, 429
smoking 297, 298
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act 186
soap 176, 215
social networking websites 262, 268, 356
socialism 106, 115, 357, 406
software, computer 99, 257, 272–3, 304, 356
solar energy 216, 243, 244
solar power 234–5, 238, 239, 245–6, 343, 344–5, 408
solar wind 346
solid-state electronics 257
Solomon, Robert 94
Solow, Robert 276
Somalia 14, 316, 337, 353
songbirds 55
Sony (corporation) 261
sorghum 126, 156
South Africa: agriculture 154; economy 316, 322; life expectancy 316; pre-historic 52, 53, 54, 83
South Korea 15, 31, 116–17, 187, 212, 322
South Sea Company 29
Southey, Robert 284–5
Soviet Union 16, 107, 109, 289, 299, 318, 324
soybeans 147, 148, 155, 156, 242
space travel 268–9, 275, 282
Spain: agriculture 129; climate 334; Franco regime 186, 289; Peruvian silver 30–31, 183–4; tariffs 222
spears 6, 43, 48, 50, 52, 70, 80, 81, 91
specialisation: by sex 61–5, 136, 376; and division of labour 7, 33, 38, 46, 61–5, 175; and exchange 7, 10, 33, 35, 37–8, 46, 56, 58, 75, 90, 132–3, 350–52, 355, 358–9; and innovation 56, 71–2, 73–4, 76–7, 119, 251; and population growth 192–3, 351; and rule of law 116, 117–18
speech 2, 55; see also language
Spencer, Herbert 108
Spengler, Oswald 289
sperm counts 280, 293, 329
spice trade 167, 175, 176, 177, 179, 185
Spinoza, Baruch de 116
Sputnik 282
squashes (vegetables) 126, 163
Sri Lanka 35, 38, 66, 205, 208, 299
Stalin, Joseph 16, 262
stamp seals 130
Stangler, Dane 294
steam engines 126, 214, 221, 228, 231–2, 244, 256, 258, 270, 271, 413–14
steamships 139, 253, 283
Stein, Gil 159
Stein, Herb 281
stem-cell research 358
Stephenson, George 256, 412
Steptoe, Patrick 306
sterilisation, coerced 203–4
Stern (magazine) 304
Stern, Nicholas, Baron 330–31, 332, 425
Stiner, Mary 64, 69
storms 314, 333, 335
Strabo 174
string 70
strokes (cerebral accidents) 18
Strong, Maurice 311
Subramanian, Arvind 317
subsidies: farming 188, 328; renewable energy supplies 344
subsistence farming 87, 138, 175–6, 189, 192, 199–200
substantivism 164–5
suburbia 108, 110, 190
Sudan 316
suffrage, universal 107
sugar 179, 202, 215
sugar beet 243
sugar cane 240, 241, 242
Sun Microsystems (corporation) 259
Sunda (landmass) 66
sunflowers 126
Sungir, Russia 71, 73
superconductivity, high-temperature 257
Superior, Lake 131
supermarkets 36, 112, 148, 268, 292, 297
surfboards 273
Sussex 285
Swan, Sir Joseph 234, 272
Swaziland 14
Sweden 17, 184, 229, 305, 340, 344
Swift, Jonathan 121, 240
Switzerland 264
swords, Japanese 198–9
Sybaris 170–71
symbiosis 75, 351
synergy 6, 101
Syria 124, 130, 164, 174
Szilard, Leo 412

Tahiti 169
Taiwan 31, 187, 219, 322
Talheim, Germany 138
Tanzania 316, 325, 327–8; Hadza people 61, 63, 87
Tapscott, Don 262
Tarde, Gabriel 5
tariffs 185–7, 188, 222–3
taro (vegetable plant) 126
Tartessians 169
Tasman, Abel 80
Tasmania 78–81, 83–4
Tattersall, Ian 73
Taverne, Dick, Baron 103
taxation: carbon taxes 346; and charitable giving 319; and consumption 27; and declining birth rates 211; early development of 160; and housing 25; and innovation 255; and intergenerational transfer 30; Mauryan empire 172; Roman empire 184; United States 25
Taylor, Barbara 103
tea 181, 182, 183, 202, 327, 392
telegraph 252–3, 257, 272, 412
telephones 252, 261; charges 22–3, 253; mobile 37, 252, 257, 261, 265, 267, 297, 326–7
television 38, 234, 252, 268
Telford, Thomas 221
Tennessee Valley Authority 326
termites 75–6
terrorism 8, 28, 296, 358
Tesco (retail corporation) 112
Tesla, Nikola 234
text messaging 292, 356
Thailand 320, 322
Thales of Miletus 171
Thames, River 17
thermodynamics 3, 244, 256
Thiel, Peter 262
Thiele, Bob 349
Thoreau, Henry David 33, 190
3M (corporation) 261, 263
threshing 124, 125, 130, 153, 198; machines 139, 283
thumbs, opposable 4, 51–2
Thwaites, Thomas 34–5
Tiberius, Roman emperor 174, 259
tidal and wave power 246, 343, 344
Tierra del Fuego 45, 62, 81–2, 91–2, 137
tigers 146, 240
timber 167, 216, 229; trade 158, 159, 180, 202
time saving 7, 22–4, 34–5, 123
Timurid empire 161
tin 132, 165, 167, 168, 213, 223, 303
‘tipping points’ 287–9, 290, 291, 293, 301–2, 311, 329
Tiwi people 81
Tokyo 190, 198
Tol, Richard 331
Tooby, John 57
tool making: early Homo sapiens 53, 70, 71; machine tools 211, 221; Mesopotamian 159, 160; Neanderthals 55, 71, 378; Palaeolithic hominids 2, 4, 7, 48–51; technological regress 80
Torres Strait islanders 63–4, 81
tortoises 64, 68, 69, 376
totalitarianism 104, 109, 181–2, 290
toucans 146
Toulouse 222
Townes, Charles 272
‘toy trade’ 223
Toynbee, Arnold 102–3
tractors 140, 153, 242
trade: and agriculture 123, 126, 127–33, 159, 163–4; early human development of 70–75, 89–93, 133–4, 159–60, 165; female-centred 88–9; and industrialisation 224–6; and innovation 168, 171; and property rights 324–5; and trust 98–100, 103; and urbanisation 158–61, 163–4, 167; see also bartering; exchange; markets
trade unions and guilds 113, 115, 223, 226
trademarks 264
traffic congestion 296
tragedy of the commons 203, 324
Trajan, Roman Emperor 161
transistors 271
transport costs 22, 23, 24, 37, 229, 230, 253, 297, 408
transport speeds 22, 252, 253, 270, 283–4, 286, 287, 296
trebuchets 275
Tressell, Robert 288
Trevithick, Richard 221, 256
Trippe, Juan 24
Trobriand islands 58
trust: between strangers 88–9, 93, 94–8, 104; and trade 98–100, 103, 104; within families 87–8, 89, 91
Tswana people 321, 322
tungsten 213
Turchin, Peter 182
Turkey 69, 130, 137
Turnbull, William (farm worker) 219
Turner, Adair, Baron 411
turning points in history, belief in 287–9, 290, 291, 293, 301–2, 311, 329
Tuscany 178
Tyneside 231
typhoid 14, 157, 310
typhus 14, 299, 310
Tyre 167, 168–9, 170, 328

Ubaid period 158–9, 160
Uganda 154, 187, 316
Ukraine 71, 129
Ulrich, Bernd 304
Ultimatum Game 86–7
unemployment 8, 28, 114, 186, 289, 296
United Nations (UN) 15, 40, 205, 206, 290, 402, 429
United States: affluence 12, 16–17, 113, 117; agriculture 139, 140–41, 142, 219–20; biofuel production 240, 241, 242; birth rates 211, 212; civil rights movement 108, 109; copyright and patent systems 265, 266; credit crunch (2008) 9, 28–9; energy use 239, 245; GDP, per capita 23, 31; Great Depression (1930s) 31, 109, 192; happiness 26–7; immigration 108, 199–200, 202, 259; income equality 18–19; industrialisation 219; life expectancy 298; New Deal 109; oil supplies 237–8; pollution levels 17, 279, 304–5; poverty 16–17, 315, 326; productivity 112–13, 117; property rights 323; rural to urban migration 219; slavery 216, 228–9, 415; tax system 25, 111, 241; trade 186, 201, 228
Upper Palaeolithic Revolution 73, 83, 235
urbanisation: and development of agriculture 128, 158–9, 163–4; global urban population totals 158, 189, 190; and population growth 209–210; and trade 158–61, 163–4, 167, 189–90; see also rural to urban migration
Uruguay 186
Uruk, Mesopotamia 159–61, 216
vaccines 17, 287, 310; polio 261, 275; smallpox 221
Vandals 175
Vanderbilt, Cornelius 17, 23, 24
vCJD (mad-cow disease) 280, 308
Veblen, Thorstein 102
Veenhoven, Ruut 28
vegetarianism 83, 126, 147, 376
Venezuela 31, 61, 238
Venice 115, 178–9
venture capitalists 223, 258, 259
Veron, Charlie 339–40
Victoria, Lake 250
Victoria, Queen 322
Vienna exhibition (1873) 233–4
Vietnam 15, 183, 188
Vikings 176
violence: decline in 14, 106, 201; homicide 14, 20, 85, 88, 106, 118, 201; in pre-industrial societies 44–5, 136, 137–9; random 104
Visby, Gotland 180
vitamin A 353
vitamin C 258
vitamin D 129
Vivaldi, Antonio 115
Vladimir, Russia 71
Vogel, Orville 142
Vogelherd, Germany 70
voles 97
Voltaire 96, 103, 104, 256

Wagner, Charles 288
Wal-Mart (retail corporation) 21, 112–14, 263
Wales 132
Wall Street (film) 101
Walton, Sam 112–13, 263
Wambugu, Florence 154
war: in Africa 316; in hunter-gatherer societies 44–5; threat of nuclear war 280, 290, 299–300; twentieth-century world wars 289, 309; unilateral declarations of 104
water: contaminated 338, 353, 429; pricing of 148; supplies 147, 280, 281, 324, 334–5; see also droughts; irrigation
water snakes 17
watermills 176, 194, 198, 215, 216–17, 234
Watson, Thomas 282
Watt, James 221, 244, 256, 271, 411, 413–14
wave and tidal power 246, 343, 344
weather forecasting 3, 4, 335
weather-related death rates 335–6
Wedgwood, Josiah 105, 114, 225, 256
Wedgwood, Sarah 105
weed control 145, 152
Weiss, George David 349
Weitzman, Martin 332–3
Welch, Jack 261
welfare benefits 16, 106
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of 89
Wells, H.G. 65, 313, 352, 354
West Germany 289–90
West Indies 202, 216, 310
Western Union (company) 261
Westinghouse, George 234
whales 6, 281, 302
whaling 87, 185, 281
wheat 42, 71, 124, 125, 129, 139, 140, 146–7, 149, 153, 156, 158, 161, 167, 300–301; new varieties 141–3
Wheeler, Sir Mortimer 162
wheels, invention of 176, 274
Whitehead, Alfred North 255
Wikipedia (online encyclopedia) 99, 115, 273, 356
Wilberforce, William 105, 214
Wilder, Thornton 359
wilderness land, expansion of 144, 147, 148, 239, 337–8, 347, 359
wildlife conservation 324, 329
William III, King 223
Williams, Anthony 262
Williams, Joseph 254
Williams, Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury 102
Wilson, Bart 90, 324
Wilson, E.O. 243, 293
Wiltshire 194
wind power 239, 246, 343–4, 346, 408
wolves 87, 137
women’s liberation 108–9
wool 37, 149, 158, 167, 178, 179, 194, 224
working conditions, improvements in 106–7, 114, 115, 188, 219–20, 227, 285
World Bank 117, 203, 317
World Health Organisation 336–7, 421
World Wide Web 273, 356
World3 (computer model) 302–3
Wrangham, Richard 59, 60
Wright brothers 261, 264
Wright, Robert 101, 175
Wrigley, Tony 231

Y2K computer bug 280, 290, 341
Yahgan Indians 62
Yahoo (corporation) 268
Yangtze river 181, 199, 230
Yeats, W.B. 289
yellow fever 310
Yellow river 161, 167
Yemen 207, 209
Yir Yoront aborigines 90–91
Yong-Le, Chinese emperor 183, 184, 185
Yorkshire 285
Young, Allyn 276
young people, pessimism about 292
Young, Thomas 221
Younger Dryas (climatic period) 125
Yucatan 335

Zak, Paul 94–5, 97
Zambia 28, 154, 316, 317, 318, 331
zero, invention of 173, 251
zero-sum thinking 101
Zimbabwe 14, 28, 117, 302, 316
zinc 213, 303
Zuckerberg, Mark 262