The Great Tech Game, with Anirudh Suri: Smart conversations on Technology, Business and Geopolitics

Ep 2. How do some societies get rich, successful and creative, and others don’t? Ft. Joel Mokyr


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The Great Tech Game podcast, with Anirudh Suri, brings you smart, insightful, big picture conversations on geopolitics, technology, business, and history with the world’s top thinkers and leaders.
In this two-part episode of The Great Tech Game podcast, host Anirudh Suri is joined by Joel Mokyr to dig deep into why some societies get rich, creative and successful while others don't.
Mokyr and Suri delve into history to answer this big question, explore the great games in history, including why the Roman Empire and the Chinese hit a ceiling in their growth.Arguing that knowledge and technology augment other factors of production such as land, labour and capital, Mokyr outlines why technology and useful knowledge can be expected to drive growth for long periods to come.
They discuss the importance of understanding the science behind things, and how important R&D and fundamental research is in the evolution of an economy. The conversation also explores what makes a society creative and successful, and why China will lose the tech race to the US according to Mokyr.
#Anirudh Suri: Managing Director, India Internet Fund; Author, The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations (HarperCollins, 2022); and Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Follow Anirudh here:
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuri
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suri
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.in
Website: www.anirudhsuri.com
Book and Podcast: www.greattechgame.com
Book Links:
Anirudh Suri:
The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri : https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My
Joel Mokyr:
The British Industrial Revolution: An Economic Perspective: https://amzn.eu/d/2Dd92KL
The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress: https://amzn.eu/d/em6Vmd5
The Gifts of Athena: Historical Origins of the Knowledge Economy: https://amzn.eu/d/7O862Nl
Enlightened Economy: https://amzn.eu/d/7qh8bf8
Why Ireland Starved: A Quantitative and Analytical History of the Irish Economy: https://amzn.eu/d/7JU9VwN
The Enlightened Economy – An Economic History of Britian 1700–1850: https://amzn.eu/d/3PcZxmi
To learn more about Joel Mokyr and his work:
Website: https://economics.northwestern.edu/people/directory/joel-mokyr.html
Chapters
00:00 - 1:12 - Intro about Joel Mokyr
1:13 - 08:19 - Why some societies get rich, others don’t?
08:20 - 10:19 - Pre-Smithian Formula for Growth and Post-Smithian Formula
10:20 - 12:02 - The Great Secret: How have Societies Transitioned from Emerging to Rich economies?
12:42 - 16:46 - The Great Agri and Trade Game: The Case of the Roman Empire, China and the Mongols
16:47 - 20:08 - Why We Didn’t See an Industrial Revolution in China and Rome?
20:09 - 27:25 - How Knowledge and Technology Augments other Factors of Production
23:10 - 27:56 - The Case of Nitrates and Phosphates and Agri Productivity, and why Nations were poor
27:57 - 30:50 - The Case of Steel: The Importance of Understanding the Science behind Technology
30:32 - 35:11 - Advancements in Science and Technology: Will They Slow Down Anytime Soon?
33:51 - 35:40 - How AI and Genetic Technology can help develop Alternatives to Steel and Nitrates
35:41 - 39:17 - The Importance of R&D and Fundamental Research, and How can Nations Cultivate an Innovation Culture?
39:51 - 43:23 - What makes a society creative and successful, and why China will lose the tech race to the US?

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The Great Tech Game, with Anirudh Suri: Smart conversations on Technology, Business and GeopoliticsBy Anirudh Suri