Open: How Collaboration and Curiosity Shaped Humankind

The Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and other flourishings of human progress were “triumphs of openness,” according to this thought-provoking economic history of the world. Norberg (Progress), a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, argues that “man is a trader by nature” and that free markets and global cooperation have been the fuel of economic, scientific, and cultural advances throughout human history. He supports his case with archaeological evidence, such as the frozen body of a Copper Age man whose waterproof shoes and sophisticated tools suggested that he “benefited from a highly complex division of labour stretching over considerable parts of [Europe],” as well as contemporary economic data. Drawing on the work of Friedrich Hayek and other free-market advocates, Norberg argues that open societies have always done better than more centralized regimes in the long run, and stakes out a bold stance against the “tribal brain” of identity politics and protectionist trade policies. He also debunks the idea that modern-day China is the counterexample to his argument, citing evidence that the country’s state-owned enterprises are faltering. Lucid explanations of economic principles and a wide range of historical examples make this a worthy contribution to the debate about how best to organize the world economy. (Aug.)