Pivotal Point: Ideas as Property
In an earlier blog , I wrote about Jared Diamond’s theory that agriculture was the pivotal point in deciding why Europe (instead of Africa or native America or the Aborigines) went on to dominate the world. That leads to the next question: why did the next big transformation, the Industrial Revolution, largely happen in England, not some other European country? William Rosen’s answer to that question is part of his terrific book, The Most Powerful Idea in the World . It all started when the British began to think there was a way for anyone to become rich. At that time, “everything of value… was either land or the produce of land”. Since land was limited, by definition, it could be redistributed, but not created anew. Was there some other way? Enter Edward Coke. He carved out a law that legalized patents that could be awarded to the “person who introduced the invention to the realm”. Next on the scene was John Locke, who felt that “rightful property is derived from the labor