Centers of Progress

Where does progress happen? The story of civilization is the story of the city. It is cities that have created and defined the modern world by acting as the sites of pivotal advances in culture, politics, science, technology, and more. There is no question that certain places, at certain times in history, have contributed disproportionately toward making the world a better place. This book tells the story of forty of those places.

In Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World, Chelsea Follett examines a diverse group of cities, ranging from ancient Athens to Song-era Hangzhou. But some common themes stand out: most cities reach their creative peak during periods of peace; most centers of progress also thrive during times of social, intellectual, and economic freedom, as well as openness to intercultural exchange and trade; and centers of progress tend to be highly populated. Because, in every city, it is ultimately the people who live there who drive progress forward―if given the freedom to do so.

Identifying common factors―such as relative peace, freedom, and multitudes―among the places that have produced history’s greatest achievements is one way to learn what causes progress. Change is a constant, but progress is not. Understanding what makes a place fertile ground for progress may help to sow the seeds of future innovations.

Moreover, their story is our story. City air provides the wind in the sails of the modern world. Come journey through these pages to some of history’s greatest centers of progress.

“Some times and places seem almost magical in the way they incubate ideas and movements. In explaining the magic in this fascinating book, Chelsea Follett shines a light on the drivers of human progress.”
—Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

“Chelsea Follett’s Centers of Progress makes urban history interesting again, indeed fascinating. These 40 tales help to explain where modern life comes from and give a broader intellectual and historical tour of the world.”
—Tyler Cowen, founder of Marginal Revolution

“Chelsea Follett has written a book telling a history of human ingenuity covering 12,000 years! We learn this astonishing epic by reading about the life—and sometimes the death—of 40 cities on five continents. There is a common thread linking these urban biographies: people of different cultures meeting in cities doted with a degree of intellectual freedom develop an ability to solve technical and social problems. And because cities communicate, their inventions slowly add up and soon spread across continents, benefiting humanity. Centers of Progress provides an optimistic, well-documented view of the world. We badly need this long-term perspective!”
—Alain Bertaud, author of Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities

“Endlessly fascinating, wide-ranging, and provocative, Centers of Progress takes us on a tour of the most creative moments of human history. Chelsea Follett moves us around the globe and across millennia. From the invention of agriculture to the digital revolution, Follett shows us the many ways in which cities have freed the imagination and brought forth new ideas that improved our lives. An inspiring rebuttal to stories of decline, Follett demonstrates that whenever people were free to gather, interact, and innovate, progress followed.”
—Jack A. Goldstone, author of Why Europe? The Rise of the West in World History, 1500–1850

“We shouldn’t just study the past to avoid repeating mistakes; we should also go there to be inspired by remarkable episodes of creativity and progress. And Chelsea Follett is the perfect tour guide. Centers of Progress is a comprehensive history lesson packed with facts yet always an enjoyable and easily accessible read.”
—Johan Norberg, author of Open: The Story of Human Progress

“Cities have long been places that foster innovation and flourishing. They could just as well be called ‘labor markets,’ ‘population clusters,’ or ‘agglomerations’ where people merge and, operating from market signals and personal need, produce stuff others find beneficial. Chelsea Follett’s book Centers of Progress describes the historical role that cities played in such advancement. From medical innovations that sprang off the Nile River in the third millennium BC in Egypt to the defeat of ruinous ‘-isms’ and rise of the 20th-century liberal order, urban centers made it happen. Underlying Follett’s work is the case for fostering the market economies that will help cities continue this role in the future.”
—Scott Beyer, author of Market Urbanism: A Vision for Free-Market Cities

“The best way to understand progress is to study history: the case studies of how it actually happened. Here are dozens of such stories―concise and readable―from all over the world, which is a reminder that progress can come from anywhere.”
—Jason Crawford, founder of The Roots of Progress

CHELSEA FOLLETT is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty & Prosperity and the managing editor of Human​Progress​.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐​being by providing free empirical data on long‐​term developments. Her writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Forbes, The Hill, Business Insider, National Review, and the Washington Examiner. She was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for 2018 in the category of Law & Policy.