Throughout history, most major advances or changes in civilization have been advances that have created more abundance. Methods include technological advance, knowledge transfer, communication, transportation, exploiting new areas by controlling the effective environment, etc.

• Fire produced abundant heat, light and cooking mechanism.


• Domestic animals produced abundant food and work.


• Farming and domesticated crops produced abundant food.


• Housing, clothing and fire produced an abundance of suitable environments even in harsh climates.


• Knowledge of metal production produced an abundance of sturdy and long lasting items.


• Money produced an abundance of exchange and specialization of skills which produced an abundance of choices and goods.


• Steam, gasoline and diesel engines produced an abundance of work and therefore manufactured items and transportation.


• Factory methods such as the assembly line produced an abundance of manufactured items.


• The open publication of scientific results created an abundance of verifiable knowledge.


• Discovery of methods to generate, transmit and control electricity led to an abundance of useful energy.


• Understanding chemistry produced an abundance of useful substances.


• Discovery of antibiotics and other medical advances produced an abundance of health.


• Invention of electronic transmission made possible abundant communication and data transfer.


• Invention of the computer made possible abundant help in nearly all fields.


• Merchandising advances (catalogs, mass merchants, big box stores, internet marketplace) created an abundance of inexpensive consumer goods.


• Invention of the internet and its later use in the world wide web is still producing abundance in many fields.


• Virtualization, digitization and other methods of creating abundance are destined to create unimaginable rewards for humanity.

This list is endless but the point is that almost every invention and advance has increased the potential abundance of goods and services by making them faster, better and cheaper. We are rapidly entering the time that many goods and services can be made so cheaply that it is more profitable to give them away than to sell them.

It is somewhat unbelievable and defies common sense but for some goods and services, the more that are given away, the higher the profit.