From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

**Lena:** Hey there, welcome to another episode of "Global Perspectives"! I'm Lena, and today I'm joined by my friend and fellow history enthusiast, Miles. We're diving into something that shapes literally everything around us but often gets overlooked in traditional history classes.
**Miles:** That's right, Lena. We're talking about the economic history of the world—how money, trade, and resources have shaped civilizations across time. You know what's fascinating? Throughout most of human prehistory, the average GDP per capita was only about $158 per year. That's adjusted for inflation!
**Lena:** Wait, seriously? That's less than 50 cents a day! And now we're in a world with trillion-dollar economies. How did we get here?
**Miles:** Exactly. It's a remarkable transformation. And what's even more interesting is how recently this all happened. For most of human history, China and India were actually the world's dominant economies—not Europe or America.
**Lena:** Right! I think most people assume Western economic dominance has always been the norm, but that's not the case at all. It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that this massive shift in global economic power really took hold.
**Miles:** And that shift created ripple effects we're still feeling today. From cattle being used as the first form of money to the creation of global shipping networks, from colonialism to digital currencies—it's all part of this incredible economic story.
**Lena:** So let's explore how these economic forces have shaped our world, starting with those early human societies and how they first began to organize their resources and trade.