At Christmas, Celebrating An Unsung Driver of Plenty

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"I'll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast." - Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol

While Bob Cratchit may be overly generous in his toast for Ebenezer Scrooge, another man is often overlooked in the recognition he deserves for the feasts and gifts we are able to share during the Christmas season. Johannes Gutenberg is recognized for his contribution to printing technology with the invention the printing press with movable type in the 15th century. While the printing technology is often recognized, the impact on our standard of living from the printing press deserves far more recognition.

Prior to Gutenberg, knowledge was often passed from one generation to next orally through an apprenticeship, or from a father to a son. This system worked fine except in cases of premature death from diseases, starvation or enemies. In a world of plagues, famines and barbarians, knowledge was constantly lost and had to be rediscovered. Legend even tells a story of a goldsmith who presented Roman Emperor Tiberius a lightweight metal plate that was almost as shiny as silver. He assured the emperor that only he and the gods knew how to make this metal from clay. To protect his wealth from this new metal, Tiberius ordered the goldsmith to be executed.

Even in rare cases where knowledge was documented through scribes and monks, the availability of this knowledge was limited to a very select group of people. The invention of the printing press changed this. Because of Gutenberg, knowledge could be both easily documented and shared broadly. No longer were people required to rediscover knowledge after the death of the trained craftsman. The knowledge could now be rapidly spread and new knowledge added to that of the previous generation. As shown in the graph of world GDP over time, this technology fundamentally changed the trajectory of the world economy.

Figure 1. World Real per Capita GDP over Time


For millennia, global real per capita GDP ranged from $125 to $175 per year which is far less than $1 per day. Today, people living on less than $1 per day are considered to be living in absolute poverty. With the exception of an elite few, prior to 1500 the entire world lived in absolute poverty. Around 1500, world per capita GDP began to increase - starting in Europe (home of the printing press). Since the invention of the printing press, world per capita GDP has increased by about a factor of 50. The normal state of mankind is to live in absolute poverty; the wealth we have today is abnormal.

The printing press also provided the tool to share the idea of freedom. Patriots like Thomas Paine used the printing press extensively to make their case for freedom from England. Freedom has spread around the world because people can read the ideas and document the benefits of freedom.

There is no reason to believe that the upward trajectory in world per capita GDP will stop. Internet search engines like Google allow people to quickly search the vast wealth of documented knowledge to find the specific information they need. Now it is far easier for information to cross borders which should continue to allow economic improvements in areas that still struggle with poverty, and continue to spread the idea of freedom to all areas of the world.

Because of the long-term benefits of the printing press, most Americans have for more food than they need and are able to give frivolous gifts rather than struggling to survive in absolute poverty. So after your Christmas feast when you unwrap your present containing a Si Robertson Chia Pet, raise your glass of eggnog and offer a toast: "I'll give you Mr. Gutenberg, the founder of the feast."

 

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