Agriculture

The fundamental constraints on human history

Human history is about trends and constraints, not names, dates and events.

Jan 27 •

Agricultural innovation is vital to human progress (the series)

Human history has been dominated by the size and distribution of the food surplus.

Jan 4 •

How the Ancient Egyptians tamed the Nile

And built the foundation for the world's longest civilization.

Nov 6, 2024 •

How Slash-and-Burn Farming works

And why it was a critical first step in human material progress

Oct 29, 2024 •

How American farmers mechanized agriculture in the 19th Century

and drastically increased the food surplus

May 28, 2024 •

We need a Green Revolution 2.0 for Africa

And why Greens are trying to stop it from happening

Feb 21, 2024 •

How agriculture made Commercial societies flourish

And it happened long before the Industrial Revolution

Feb 6, 2024 •

Farming in Commercial societies (1500-1800)

And how it generated the food surplus to trigger human material progress

Feb 5, 2024 •

Does the origin of agriculture explain global inequality today?

Yes, but it is only one step in the full explanation

Jan 30, 2024 •

Farming in Medieval Europe

And why medieval peasants were the Silicon Valley of the period.

Jan 24, 2024 •

Farming innovations paved the way for modern progress

But it took about 10,000 years of experimentation to do so.

Jan 17, 2024 •

Farming in Ancient Greece and Rome

And why its inefficiencies made progress all but impossible

Jan 17, 2024 •

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