The world we live in is profoundly different from that of our ancestors, even our recent ones. There is a bigger difference in terms of everyday experience between someone born in the 20th century and somebody born in 1700, than between the person from 1700 and someone from the time of Jesus. The force that has so transformed the world and the nature of everyday life is, in the first level of explanation, economic growth.

A huge rise in real incomes is the main factor that has transformed everyday life.

Because of economic growth, there have been radical social changes.

Ordinary people today have far more effective choice and a vastly wider range of options than even their recent ancestors.

Much of the dark or unpleasant side of human life has been dramatically reduced.

The ultimate cause of all these changes is widespread, persistent, and cumulative innovation.

Understanding innovation, and how and why it is so much more widespread in the last two centuries, is crucial to understanding the world we live in and its likely future.

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