A broader perspective

Before we get embroiled in the detail of the current economic crisis, it’s worth taking a step back and looking at our economic well-being from a broader perspective.

We could look at our place in the scale of the universe (awesome animation) but that might be taking perspective too far. Let’s consider the last 200 years.

Our individual and collective well-being has increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution. Health and longevity have increased dramatically. Wealth has increased dramatically. This has occurred in almost all countries – irrespective of specific political and economic ideologies – albeit at different rates and at different times.

In 1989, at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Free Market Capitalism was thought to have vanquished Communism. Intellectuals wrote books proclaiming The End of History. However, a mere twenty years later, Communist China has one of the fastest growing economies and is predicted to become the biggest economy in the world by mid-century.

The Joy of Stats

In the BBC programme, The Joy of Stats, Hans Rosling presented a superb four minute visualisation of the history of economic well-being across 200 years and 200 countries.

You can find out more about Han Rosling's work at Gapminder.

Watch 200 countries, 200 years, 4 minutes after the jump. Also, a longer TED talk by Hans Rosling with further economic data visualisation.


The Joy of Stats



TED talk