A short video on how technological innovation born of economic liberty has changed the world.

History is more than dates, places and battles. In many instances it’s technological advances that change the world for the betterment of all mankind. In this case it’s the story of French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson and his creation in France of the first all metal slide rest lathe, the forerunner to all modern machine tools in 1751.

Lathes had been around for centuries, but lacked the precision with hand held cutting tools. The slide rest of the Vaucanson metal lathe that provided the control to produce metal part of exacting dimensions. The lathe is said to be able to produce every other machine and machine tool. This advancement changed everything.

The producer of the video references a profound chart of World Population GCP and per Capita GCP 1 –2008 AD from data of the late Angus Maddison, similar to this produced by the  Visual Capitalist, we credit them for the chart and commentary:

For thousands of years, economic progress was largely linear and linked to population growth. Without machines or technological innovations, one person could only produce so much with their time and resources.

More recently, innovations in technology and energy allowed the “hockey stick” effect to come into play.

The video was produced by Machine Thinking last year.

While some may quibble about which particular machine produced this miracle The larger point is that the machines of the industrial age profoundly changed what people could produce.

As the video noted the average person in 1600 was no better off economically than someone thousands of years earlier. This is what is called the Malthusian trap and for seven thousand years, it was inescapable no matter what we did.

Machine tools such as this changed all of that, one person could produce what had taken many. This surplus could outpace births, allowing the economy to grow at an incredible pace as seen in the chart. All from the genius of the mind undergirded by the Economic liberty of the free-enterprise system. This is why this is vastly superior to the societal slavery of socialism.

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Will you help revive the American Conservative Movement?

The ongoing campaign of intimidation and violence against conservatives speaking on college campuses took an ugly turn last night as Daily Wire show host Michael J. Knowles was sprayed with an “odorous substance” made to seem like bleach during a YAF speech at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He was hit in the face but wasn’t concerned, thinking it was paint or even milk. Later, he realized it was possibly bleach but was told by police it was not.

He was giving a speech titled “Men are Not Women” when the attack took place.

Here is a better angle to see the attacker and subsequent law enforcement take-down:

Great speech Michael, I was in the front row and caught the whole thing on video. pic.twitter.com/fVeaXs0Q4p

— Collin Tuso (@collin_tuso) April 12, 2019

Masked antifa terrorist storms into @michaeljknowles college talk.

Could have been deadly.

Video via @collin_tuso. pic.twitter.com/EK4T06K3G6

— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) April 12, 2019

Here’s what was left from the water gun used by the attacker:

Opinion

Where do we begin? This represents an escalation of tactics that seems to be becoming more prevalent over the last couple of years. It wasn’t too long ago when leftists on campus would simply protest. They learned that these protests didn’t get the kind of attention they wanted and did very little to stop conservatives from speaking on campus, so they turned to more aggressive forms of protests that could actually disrupt the speakers.

The assault on Knowles wasn’t the first time physical violence was employed and it won’t be the last. But since it won’t work to actually stop most speakers from appearing, the next stage of escalation could turn deadly. That’s the real fear and why law enforcement is unfortunately required in order to keep the speakers and those in attendance safe from the unhinged progressives.

As I’ve noted before, this isn’t a question of freedom of speech. It’s about freedom of thought. As college progressives attempt to make their campuses “safe” from the ideas that conservatives spread, what they’re really doing is stifling the types of thoughts that could free some student from a life of helplessness, victimhood, and declining personal responsibility. Many if not most conservative speakers invited by organizations like YAF offer viewpoints that these students will not hear in classrooms or in the cafeteria with friends. The concepts being quashed are driven by the philosophy that made America a great nation, the concepts that desperately need to be heard by a generation that is growing increasingly lost in their own servitude to the leftist mindset.

It’s imperative for conservatives to keep speaking, for students to start listening, and for the radical progressives to stop shouting down the ideas that could actually keep this generation from destroying the United States of America.

Quote

“If a masked idiot came at me during a speech he better hope there’s campus police to take him down and not this pissed off preggo mama. @michaeljknowles has more restraint than I.” – Elisha Krauss

If a masked idiot came at me during a speech he better hope there’s campus police to take him down and not this pissed off preggo mama. @michaeljknowles has more restraint than I.

— Elisha (@ElishaKrauss) April 12, 2019

Final Thoughts

The escalation of suppression techniques used against conservative speakers on campus is scary. Before, it was the heckler’s veto. Today, it’s odorous substances. Tomorrow, it could be more deadly. The left can’t win with thoughts so they rely on anger.

Will you help revive the American Conservative Movement?

If we set aside the excessive amounts of money American universities charge for tuition as well as the billions of our dollars that come from the various levels of government, they’re still getting a huge sum of money every year. Where does it all come from? Some of you, actually.

It’s been a common practice for literally centuries for alumni to donate to their alma maters once they’ve achieved a level of financial security in the real world. But it’s time for this to stop. As Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, said in his PragerU video, it’s time to start starving the beast instead of feeding it.

“You’d be better throwing your money into a bonfire. That’s just a waste. But when you donate to your average university, you’re actually hurting your society.”

As we often say, most American colleges can best be described as progressive indoctrination centers. Watch this PrageU video as Charlie Kirk lays down some important facts we all need to understand.

Will you help revive the American Conservative Movement?