QS36501012553Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

The bestselling co-author ofWhy Nations Failand the bestselling co-authorof13 Bankersdeliver a bold reinterpretation of economics and history that will fundamentally change how you see the world

A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear. Progress depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organizing production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity.

The wealth generated by technological improvements in agriculture during the European Middle Ages was captured by the nobility and used to build grand cathedrals while peasants remained on the edge of starvation. The first hundred years of industrialization in England delivered stagnant incomes for working people. And throughout the world today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence undermine jobs and democracy through excessive automation, massive data collection, and intrusive surveillance.

It doesn’t have to be this way.Power and Progressdemonstrates that the path of technology was once–and may again be–brought under control. The tremendous computing advances of the last half century can become empowering and democratizing tools, but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders.

With their breakthrough economic theory and manifesto for a better society, Acemoglu and Johnson provide the vision needed to reshape how we innovate and who really gains from technological advances.

Daron Acemogluis Institute Professor of Economics at MIT, the university’s highest faculty honor. For the last twenty-five years, he has been researching the historical origins of prosperity, poverty, and the effects of new technologies on economic growth, employment, and inequality. Acemoglu is the recipient of several awards and honors, including the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to economists under forty judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge (2005); the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in economics, finance, and management for his lifetime contributions (2016), and the Kiel Institute’s Global Economy Prize in economics (2019). He is author (with James Robinson) ofThe Narrow Corridorand theNew York TimesbestsellerWhy Nations Fail.

Simon Johnsonis the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Sloan School at MIT, where he is also head of the Global Economics and Management group. Previously chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, he has worked on global economic crises and recoveries for thirty years. Johnson has published more than 300 high-impact pieces in leading publications such asThe New York Times,The Washington Post,The Wall Street Journal,The Atlantic, andFinancial Times. He is author (with Jon Gruber) ofJump-Starting America, and (with James Kwak) ofWhite House Burningand the national bestseller13 Bankers. He works with entrepreneurs, elected officials, and civil society organizations around the world.

• Publisher: PublicAffairs (May 16, 2023)
• Language: English
• Hardcover: 560 pages
• ISBN-10: 1541702530
• ISBN-13: 9781541702530
• Item Weight: 1.74 pounds
• Dimensions: 6 x 1.81 x 9.25 inches