Technology in 1776

• America in 2026 vs. 1776: 250 years of invisible miracles.
• Child mortality: 40% pre-5 in 1776 → 0.5% today.
• Energy consumption: modern Americans use 15× more daily energy.
  • Firewood alone may have been 25%+ of the 1776 economy.
• Food: 90% farmed in 1776; year-round fresh produce now trivial.
• Water, shelter, medicine, travel: all unrecognizably better.
  • Week-long trips to nearby cities; single outfit owned; no running water.
• Thesis: pessimism ignores the miracles already embedded in daily life.
  • “The Union survived, and there’s an American flag on the moon.”

Christian Keil, a16z (American Dynamism) · 2026-01-26 · Read on a16z.com