Never the same again

Concentrates on two significant historic transformations--the discovery and subjugation of the New World by the European powers and the emergence of a truly modern economy during what is known as the Industrial Revolution. Asserts that the driving force underlying these developments was consumption and consumerism. Features commentary on the Aztec civilization, Europe's bullion famine, England's cottage industries, expanding markets in North America, and the prescient writings of Daniel DeFoe and Bernard de Mandeville. Contrasts the Spanish use of plunder from the Americas, which was unproductively invested and soon depleted, with British commercial enterprise, which paved the way for ongoing economic growth.