This is a serious analysis of a ridiculous subject, which is of course the opposite of what is usual in economics.
If there is one single area of economics in which path dependence is unmistakable, it is in economic geography – the location of production in space.
If there were an Economist's Creed, it would surely contain the affirmations 'I understand the Principle of Comparative Advantage' and 'I advocate Free Trade'
If the picture I’ve drawn is at all right, the only way we could have anything resembling a middle-class society — a society in which ordinary citizens have a reasonable assurance of maintaining a decent life as long as they work hard and play by the rules — would be by having a strong social safety net, one that guarantees not just health care but a minimum income, too.