Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What would it take for everyone in the world to enjoy the living standards of Switzerland today by 2100?
In this episode of the _Century of Plenty_ podcast, Sven Smit, Chris Bradley, Nick Leung, and Marc Canal discuss the ideas behind their McKinsey Global Institute book, A Century of Plenty: A story of progress for generations to come. They discuss:
◼ Why the past century’s sixfold increase in global prosperity provides reason for optimism about the future, and why today’s pessimism may overlook the lessons of history.
◼ How AI, energy, productivity, and innovation could enable billions more people to reach an “empowerment” standard of living while addressing climate change and resource constraints.
◼ Why growth and inclusion should go hand in hand, and how affordability, inequality, and a renewed willingness to build will shape the next century of progress.
*Chapters:*
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:36 Imagining a world of plenty
00:03:54 Beliefs about growth: is it good, possible, and for me?
00:07:55 Measures of progress
00:16:20 How was progress achieved?
00:24:38 Was it worth it?
00:30:12 Inequality, affordability & the empowerment line
00:40:09 The demographic drag and the multipolar world
00:43:52 An 8.5x economy: energy, materials & AI
01:01:03 Five shifts to get to plenty
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0340SmMq12xdC0E69h3qDL
Listen on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/century-of-plenty/id6797611085
Explore the book and research: acenturyofplenty.com
Get your copy of 'A Century of Plenty' on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09oVyVx2
Subscribe to our channel: mck.co/YouTube
Subscribe to our newsletters: mck.co/Subscribe
*Find us on:*
Facebook: mck.co/Facebook
Twitter: mck.co/Twitter
LinkedIn: mck.co/LinkedIn
Instagram: mck.co/Instagram
What would it take for everyone in the world to enjoy the living standards of Switzerland today by 2100?
In this episode of the _Century of Plenty_ podcast, Sven Smit, Chris Bradley, Nick Leung, and Marc Canal discuss the ideas behind their McKinsey Global Institute book, A Century of Plenty: A story of progress for generations to come. They discuss:
◼ Why the past century’s sixfold increase in global prosperity provides reason for optimism about the future, and why today’s pessimism may overlook the lessons of history.
◼ How AI, energy, productivity, and innovation could enable billions more people to reach an “empowerment” standard of living while addressing climate change and resource constraints.
◼ Why growth and inclusion should go hand in hand, and how affordability, inequality, and a renewed willingness to build will shape the next century of progress.
*Chapters:*
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:36 Imagining a world of plenty
00:03:54 Beliefs about growth: is it good, possible, and for me?
00:07:55 Measures of progress
00:16:20 How was progress achieved?
00:24:38 Was it worth it?
00:30:12 Inequality, affordability & the empowerment line
00:40:09 The demographic drag and the multipolar world
00:43:52 An 8.5x economy: energy, materials & AI
01:01:03 Five shifts to get to plenty
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0340SmMq12xdC0E69h3qDL
Listen on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/century-of-plenty/id6797611085
Explore the book and research: acenturyofplenty.com
Get your copy of 'A Century of Plenty' on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09oVyVx2
Subscribe to our channel: mck.co/YouTube
Subscribe to our newsletters: mck.co/Subscribe
*Find us on:*
Facebook: mck.co/Facebook
Twitter: mck.co/Twitter
LinkedIn: mck.co/LinkedIn
Instagram: mck.co/Instagram
