Why did the escape from subsistence economies, better known as the Industrial Revolution, occur in an obscure corner of the Eurasian peninsula---Northwest Europe? Answers have included the gradual spread of trade, the adoption of strong private property rights or accountable government, the accumulation of capital through religious asceticism, the spread of exploitation, slavery and colonialism, even the lucky availability of coal. In The Information Nexus: Global Capitalism from the Renaissance to the Present (Cambridge, 2016), Steven Marks of Clemson University argues that early access to information was the key---and that it remains the key to understanding the nature of capitalism even today.

His talk will take place in Rocky 1 on Tuesday, August 6 at 6 pm. It is sponsored by the Political Economy Project, and is free and open to the public.