Introduction : the sixteen-page economic history of the world -- The logic of the Malthusian economy -- Material living standards -- Fertility -- Life expectancy -- Malthus and Darwin : survival of the richest -- Technological advance -- Institutions and growth -- The emergence of modern man --...

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Introduction: Of Ruling Classes and Underclasses: Th e Laws of Social Mobility -- PART I. Social Mobility by Time and Place -- 2. Sweden: Mobility Achieved? -- 3. The United States: Land of Opportunity -- 4. Medieval England: Mobility in the Feudal Age --...