The physical fact of hydrocarbons sitting in the ground is exogenous, yes. But that was true since before humans existed, so it doesn’t explain progress. You need an explanation for why we didn’t start using those fuels on a large scale until the 1700s or so. And the proximal explanation for that is technology.
The physical fact of hydrocarbons sitting in the ground is exogenous, yes. But that was true since before humans existed, so it doesn’t explain progress. You need an explanation for why we didn’t start using those fuels on a large scale until the 1700s or so. And the proximal explanation for that is technology.