Mass Flourishing

In Mass Flourishing by Edmund S. Phelps, the author strives to give his point of view on why some countries in the early 19th century went through periods of vast and unbounded growth of their wages, expansion of employment in the market economy and widespread satisfaction of their work (Phelps). He looks at several different examples of why certain countries, and what factors within those countries led to what he calls “flourishing”, and why that type of growth is no longer happening today. Phelps goes on to argue that flourishing and innovation are not the result of a select few innovators and inventors, but rather a cultural view of the masses, that steers economic growth within one’s industry and country. I believe Phelps’s question is important because he is looking for another way to describe economic growth that does not seem to follow mainstream ideas. Him being such a respected economist adds weight to his views and the evidence he provides throughout the book raises many valid points. Why was there such exponential growth throughout the 1800’s and into the 1900’s? What caused such growth to occur, and likewise, what caused that level of growth to cease? Phelps argues that grassroots innovation is one of the core causes of growth throughout history and gives several examples of why.

Part one of this book deals with the shift from a mercantile economy into a “modern economy”. “A modern economy turns people who are close to the economy, where they are apt to be struck by new commercial ideas, into the investigators and experimenters who manage the innovation process from development, and in many cases, adoption as well.” (Phelps 27) The shift from a mercantile economy to a modern economy stopped people from just buying...

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...y argument that I can think of that the author did not really get into in this book deals with the aspect of human capital. He doesn’t really mention how the strength of human capital can promote dynamism and innovation, and after reading his book, I would think that a strong educational system would be one of the big proponents of his argument. I think that starting from the ground up, we should be taught to innovate, we should be taught to think outside the box, and we should be taught that just getting it done might not always be good enough. Schools teach us the basics, but they don’t provide jumping off points for innovation. I believe Phelps makes many valid points, and it has changed my way of thinking, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in economics, as it provides a way of looking at economic growth that I had not really thought of before.