Art Carden Will Examine How Cultural Shifts After 1800 Sparked Innovation and Rising Living Standards
A leading economic historian who is among the foremost voices exploring how economic liberty and cultural change combine to drive human flourishing will deliver a Northwood University Freedom Seminar keynote address on Dec. 2.
Art Carden, the Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor of Business and Medical Properties Trust Fellow at Samford University, will explore how cultural and economic shifts after 1800 sparked unprecedented global prosperity and reshaped human character.
“Northwood University is thrilled to welcome such a highly regarded scholar of economic history,” explained Academic Vice President and Provost Dr. Kristin Stehouwer. “His work, published by the University of Chicago Press and developed in collaboration with noted economist Deirdre McCloskey, contributes significantly to global conversations about innovation, culture and prosperity.”
Carden will draw from the book he co-authored with McCloskey, “Leave Me Alone and I’ll Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World.” The book is Northwood University’s Fall 2025 Omniquest selection, which will be read and discussed across campus as part of Northwood’s longstanding tradition of university-wide intellectual engagement.
Students, faculty, and members of the community are invited to listen to Carden’s lecture, which will examine how a growing cultural respect for innovators, producers, and entrepreneurs — what he and McCloskey refer to as the “Bourgeois Deal” — led to greater economic liberty and sparked a surge in innovation, rising living standards, and broader human flourishing. Carden’s research informs ongoing global debates about economic development, innovation, and cultural change. His visit brings those discussions to Northwood’s campus and opens direct engagement with ideas shaping scholarship and discourse around economic liberty.
“Art Carden helps us understand that prosperity is not just a matter of technology or policy — it is the result of ideas that affirm the dignity of the individual and the moral value of enterprise,” said Dr. Alexander Tokarev, a Northwood economics professor who has served as the academic lead for the 2025 Northwood University Freedom Seminar.
Under the theme of “The Road to Freedom,” this year’s Freedom Seminar lectures have examined the intellectual and institutional forces that lead societies toward freedom or serfdom.
“By studying how cultural values and institutions shaped the modern world, the Fall 2025 Northwood University Freedom Seminar has underscored Northwood’s commitment to preparing future leaders to sustain free enterprise and civil society,” explained Dean of Academics Dr. Stacey Tetloff. “Art Carden’s upcoming lecture represents the final installment of this year’s Freedom Seminar, and we are honored to invite community members to campus to learn from such a prominent economic historian.”
In addition to “Leave Me Alone and I’ll Make You Rich,” Carden’s works include “Strangers with Candy” and “Mere Economics” (with Caleb S. Fuller). He serves as co-editor of the Southern Economic Journal and is affiliated with several research and education institutes.
Carden’s Dec. 2 lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in Griswold Lecture Hall. The event will be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend in person. For more information about the Northwood University Freedom Seminar, visit https://www.northwood.edu/freedom-seminar.
