THE GREAT DIVERGENCE IN THE ANTHROPOCENE

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to make explicit and explore in detail some of the implicit assumptions that informed my book, Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600-1850. While the theoretical and methodological perspectives that inform the work are laid out in the introduction and conclusion of the book, why these frameworks were chosen is not elaborated upon. The emergence and impact of the Anthropocene, the new epoch which our planet has entered, are essential to the arguments of the book and in my opinion worth elucidation. The Anthropocene is a scientific category. The concept emerged from within the community of Earth System scholars and refers to a new epoch that followed the Holocene and in which “humans constitute the dominant driver of change to the Earth System.” The power of humanity to transform our planet demands a rethinking of historical practices and priorities. By making explicit the implicit assumptions of my work this paper represents a contribution to that rethinking.