Book by Brian Potter: “Efficiency is the engine of civilization. But where do improvements in production efficiency come from? In The Origins of Efficiency, Brian Potter argues that improving production efficiency—finding ways to produce goods and services in less time, with less labor, using fewer resources—is the force behind some of the most consequential changes in human history. He examines the fundamental characteristics of a production process and how each can be made faster, cheaper, and more reliable, with detailed examples from a range of industries: steel and semiconductors, wind turbines and container shipping, Tesla and the Ford Model T, and more. The Origins of Efficiency is a comprehensive companion for anyone seeking to understand how we arrived at this age of material abundance—and how we can push efficiency improvements into domains like housing, medicine, and education, where much work is left to be done…(More)”.
How to contribute:
Did you come across – or create – a compelling project/report/book/app at the leading edge of innovation in governance?
Share it with us at info@thelivinglib.org so that we can add it to the Collection!
About the Curator
Get the latest news right in your inbox
Subscribe to curated findings and actionable knowledge from The Living Library, delivered to your inbox every Friday
Related articles
Democracy
INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATION
Trust in Federal Government Sinks to New Depths
Posted in October 15, 2026 by Stefaan Verhulst
Collective Intelligence
PEOPLE
In Referees We Trust? How Peer Review Became a Mark of Scientific Legitimacy
Posted in October 14, 2026 by Stefaan Verhulst
Citizen Engagement
PEOPLE
Professionalizing deliberation: a Social Network Analysis of UK climate mini-publics
Posted in October 14, 2026 by Stefaan Verhulst