Prime Movers of Globalization

"Prime Movers of Globalization" explores the often overlooked technologies that make the global economy possible. Vaclav Smil delves into the history of two key technical developments that have driven globalization: the high-compression non-sparking internal combustion engines and gas turbines. Smil argues that these technologies are more important to the global economy than any corporation or trade agreement. He compares their efficiency and scale to prime movers of the past and shows how the development and diffusion of these technologies have resulted in epochal shifts in global affairs and the economy.