Economic Growth in human history tends to go through phases where the Ricardian trap shifts between a natural resource constraint (fertile land, sufficient rainfall, critical mineral) or a human capital constraint (need more or better trained people). Humans routinely failed. Yet when humans did succeed in breaking any Ricardian limit (natural resource or population), human populations grew.
For example, early farming is considered a resource management solution to resource scarcity – either because hunting and gathering was becoming more difficult or because its success led to more children where a nomadic existence made child rearing more difficult.
Explain these 3 long phased changes:
1. Early settled agriculture, early city states and early empires faced a human capital Ricardian Trap, which eventually induced the dual creation of larger empires and trading city states.
2. Very large empires faced a resource trap where economic growth and political power required more diverse goods, which eventually induced still large but much smaller empires that deliberately cultivated and protect trade.
3. Smaller trade friendly empires faced a human capital constraint, which eventually induced the creation of smaller states favoring specialized in production of high valued goods.
Finally, explain why large and loosely coordinated nomadic confederations that moved with their herds continued to prosper and grow with EACH phase above, sporadically conquering and dominating early city states, large empires, and smaller trade friendly empires.
