Want to know about the four key economic ages of humanity? Robert explains them in an easy way!
The four economic ages are:
- The Hunter-Gatherer Age
- The Agrarian Age
- The Industrial Age
- The Information Age
Robert explains how wealth and society have changed over time:
1. The Hunter-Gatherer Age: People lived by hunting animals and gathering food. Everyone was equal, with no social classes. There was no wealth as we know it today—just basic survival, and the tribe acted as a support system for everyone.
2. The Agrarian Age: When humans started farming and domesticating animals, land became the most valuable thing. Kings and queens owned the land, and the peasants worked for them. This created two main classes: the wealthy landowners and the poor farmers.
3. The Industrial Age: With new inventions and industries, like oil and steel, wealth shifted towards factories and production. Land was still valuable, but now factories became more important. A middle class started emerging, alongside the rich and poor.
4. The Information Age: With computers and technology, wealth shifted to information. Resources like silicon became valuable, and for the first time, wealth was more accessible to everyone. This era created four classes: the poor, middle class, rich, and super-rich, with people like Bill Gates representing the super-rich.
He explains how people could become super-rich in different ways depending on their time period. Today, the super-rich can come from many areas—whether it's farming, technology, or even new ideas. What connects them all is the ability to use information to coordinate resources and build wealth quickly.
Robert also talks about the growing gap between the super-rich and everyone else, especially in a world where outdated or limited information is holding people back. While some are thriving, many others are struggling—like tribes losing their land, farmers going bankrupt, or workers losing jobs.
Even in the wealthiest country, many people are dealing with debt and worrying about their future. The key to this gap is information—those who have access to the right knowledge can succeed, while others are left behind.
The good news is that information is now available to almost everyone, so anyone, even the poor or young, can use it to change their situation. Becoming rich today doesn't need big investments; it just takes the right information.
Robert talks about how information is everywhere today, but there's so much of it that people can feel overwhelmed. While having more information is great, it can make it hard to use it in the right way, even though it’s the key to becoming wealthy.
He also shares his experience in the Vietnam War, where he learned how powerful information can be—how it can save lives or cause harm. He emphasizes that it's crucial to manage information wisely. He had to quickly process and organize lots of information to avoid dangerous situations.
Finally, Robert explains how important it is to sort and classify information. In Vietnam, he learned how to categorize data based on five important factors.
