The notion that man was a creature of his circumstance, and that those circumstances were not predetermined, immutable, or utterly impervious to human intervention is one of the most radical discoveries of all time. It calls into subject the dictates of God and nature. It implied that, given new tools, humanity was ready to take charge of its own destiny. It called for cheer and activity rather than pessimism and resignation. Before 1870 economics was mostly about what you couldn’t do. After 1870, it was mostly about what you could do.
—Sylvia Nasar in The Grand Pursuit, page xiii-xiv.
—Sylvia Nasar in The Grand Pursuit, page xiii-xiv.