Growth is often resisted but is critical for prosperity. It adds to longevity and comfort and lessens the monotony of work. Still growth faces resistance as it causes upheaval and brings us come face to face with uncertainty. Previously people used to work on their own and resisted being employed by factories. The transition was slow.
Growth takes time. The nature of work and production process changed by some innovations. Some hitherto unknown innovations such as Steam Engine in the wake of Industrial Revolution were strange innovations — it was not known what to do with it. It took almost a century for these innovations to affect productivity.
Growth is unpredictable. Innovations are disruptive. They destroy jobs and create new jobs. They are transformative but it is difficult to realise their full effect.
Growth is cultural. Great Britain was the pioneer in availing of good effects of industrialization. Other countries continued to invent and had more wealth. They had more resources and better environment, Morky’s work focuses on the culture of growth.
Growth is not inevitable. Over a period of several centuries, the economics of the world did not show any growth. The last few hundred years were exceptional, where growth accelerated. Innovations lead to other innovations, and the cycle of growth gets momentum. What is required is the right conditions for growth. It is not guaranteed.
Since lower growth is always problematic, it prods the governments to participate more actively in the economy. Economic policy has certainly a role to play. Still, governments should realize that better planning does not always result into abondance. What is crucial for growth is an element of openness – — openness to risk, uncertainty, change and creativity. This is the greatest lesson we learn from Mokyr’s work.
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