Mokyr argues that not only is knowledge a vital condition for economic take-off but it is also essential there is a knowledge culture that fosters learning and its application in practical matters

xCapitalism, the most enduring economic system in history, is believed to have been engendered by conditions conducive to the unfettered accumulation of private capital and the pursuit of profit. The accrual of private capital beyond a tipping point is said to have created the fundamental conditions for an explosion in private enterprise, ushering in the age of capitalism.

Economic historian Joel Mokyr, while teaching and studying Britain’s Industrial Revolution which marked the beginning of the capitalist era, began seeing things in a somewhat different light. He suspected the secret sauce of

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