The Great Divergence: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Great Divergence, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Europe was not always ahead
Pomeranz argues that until around 1800, the most advanced parts of China, such as the Yangzi Delta, were roughly as developed as the most advanced parts of Europe, such as England.
Living standards, markets and life expectancy were broadly similar.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
The real divergence came late
Pomeranz argues that the great divergence, when Western Europe pulled sharply ahead, happened mainly in the nineteenth century.
Earlier explanations that place Europe's lead much earlier, he suggests, are mistaken.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Both regions faced ecological limits
Pomeranz describes how both England and the Yangzi Delta were running short of land, wood and food by the late eighteenth century.
Their growth was pressing against the limits of their environments.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Coal was in the right place
Pomeranz argues that England was lucky to have coal deposits near its industrial centres.
Cheap coal allowed it to replace wood and power steam engines. Without it, he suggests, growth might have stalled as in China.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
The Americas provided extra land
Pomeranz argues that colonies in the Americas gave Europe access to vast resources like cotton, sugar and timber.
He calls these resources ghost acres, land Europe used without having at home.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Slavery and colonies mattered
Pomeranz notes that much of this New World production relied on slave labour.
Europe's advantage was built partly on exploitation. Prosperity in one place rested on forced labour in another, a fact often overlooked.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Culture does not explain it all
Pomeranz challenges explanations that credit European culture, institutions or values for its success.
He argues that geography, resources and colonies mattered more. Luck and location, not superior values, tipped the balance in his account.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Comparing fairly changes history
Pomeranz argues that comparing regions of similar size and development, rather than whole countries, gives a fairer picture.
This approach changes how we understand world history. National averages hide the regions that really mattered for comparison.
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