According to Adam Smith, if labor creates value, then the amount of wealth in the world could increase by the collective efforts of a nation. Welcome to the dawn of mercantilism, which, as you'll learn here, radically redefined how rulers used economic policy-specifically to further the process of state building.

Outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics can have profound effects not just on human populations, but also on the economy. Discover how the Black Death shut down trade routes, lowered economic productivity, disrupted supply and demand, depressed land value, and ultimately made the medieval feudal system untenable.

Discover what Great Britain's burgeoning textile trade in the 18th century reveals about why this nation was the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Consider how the introduction of a popular new product generated significant market demand, how inventors solved problems, and why the steam engine is rightly considered the decisive factor that facilitated large-scale industrial production.

Professor Harreld explains the socialist ideology of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which became the widely accepted variety of socialism in the early 20th century. You'll learn Marx's stages of development; how Lenin steered Russia on the path of war communism"; and how Stalin rejected the economic path laid out for Russia in favor of something much worse."

Take a trip to the new frontiers of the world economy. You'll learn how India, by promoting its wealth of human capital, and China, by promoting foreign investment, have become two of the world's great economic powers. You'll also consider the influence played by political figures, including Gandhi, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping.

Welcome to the world of mass consumption, which brought humanity into the modern economy for good. After examining what, exactly, the middle class" is, you'll ponder the economic important of mail-order catalogs, the dawn of department stores in the United States and Europe, and the birth of modern advertising."

At the heart of many European colonies were plantations, an economic system that relies on one mass-produced cash crop and a large, inexpensive labor force. How did Europeans solve labor supply problems in the colonies they established around the world? When (and where) did race-based slavery begin? Why did it last for so long?

During the Industrial Revolution, Western Europe learned to make iron products better, faster, and cheaper than ever before. Travel back to the age of iron and steel in this lecture that covers everything from new smelting processes and coke fuel to Henry Cort's inventions and the construction of early iron-frame buildings.

Coal wasn't the only fuel in use during the Industrial Revolution. First, Professor Harreld introduces you to other power sources that were in use at the time (including peat and animal power). Then, he takes you inside the dramatic evolution of the steam engine-a new power source that would have an irrevocable impact on the progression of the world economy.

By 1500, the Iberian kingdoms of Portugal and Spain opened up immense possibilities for the backwater European economy to take the lead on the world stage. As you follow the story of how they did it, you'll encounter the landmark Treaty of Tordesillas; the development of Crown Trade Routes; Spanish hidalgos and conquistadors; and the link between slaves, gold, and spices.