From Malthus to Mars

The majority of human innovation has taken place in less than 1% of human history.

For most of human history, very little innovation happened and there was very little growth in GDP per capita. This type of economy is called a “Malthusian economy,” after the priest Thomas Malthus, who claimed that, at some point, Earth’s human population would outgrow food production and therefore face mass starvation. However, his prediction did not come true. People managed to escape the “Malthusian Trap” when the “Great Divergence” happened: Starting around 1450, certain areas in Western Europe saw an exponential increase in living standards. Events that spurred this growth included the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and the “Social Networking Revolution” – all of which promoted the dissemination of knowledge and creativity.

During peak growth periods, many “10x technologies” appeared. These technologies solve a problem 10 times better than the previous solution. For example, the introduction of the Gutenberg printing press meant that the price of a Bible dropped from 300 florins to 30 ...