Before the industrial revolution prolonged economic growth was unachievable. All economies were organic, dependent on plant photosynthesis to provide food, raw materials, and energy. This was true both of heat energy, derived from burning wood, and mechanical energy provided chiefly by human and animal muscle. The flow of energy from the sun captured by plant photosynthesis was the basis of all production and consumption. Britain began to escape the old restrictions by making increasing us...

The industrial revolution transformed the productive power of societies. It did so by vastly increasing the individual productivity, thus delivering whole populations from poverty. In this new account by one of the world's acknowledged authorities the central issue is not simply how the revolution began but still more why it did not quickly end. The answer lay in the use of a new source of energy. Pre-industrial societies had access only to very limited energy supplies. As long as mechanic...

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

A collection of eight volumes of books which contain all the known published writings and variant readings of Thomas Malthus. Malthus is most famous as the inventor of a simple equation between population and food supply and his work is seen as the foundation for population studies.

Population, Welfare and Economic Change presents the latest research on the causes and consequences of British population change from the medieval period to the eve of the Industrial Revolution, in both town and countryside. Its overarching concern is with the economic and demographic decision-making of individuals and groups and the extent to which these were constrained by institutions and resources. Within this, the volume's particular focus is on population growth: its causes ...

Ever get the feeling that things are falling apart? You're not alone. From bad banks to global warming it can all look hopeless, but what if everything could turn out, well, even better than before? What if the only thing holding us back is a lack of imagination and a surplus of old orthodoxies?In fascinating and iconoclastic detail - on everything from the cash in your pocket to the food on your plate and the shape of our working lives - Cancel the Apocalypse describes ho...