"In 1820, for example, 70% of American workers were in agriculture; today 2% are. If all those workers had remained tilling the land, America would now be a lot poorer." (The Economist. "The Great Jobs Switch". Sept. 29th 2005).

I liked this point for the perspective that it gives to contemporary debates about the merits of outsourcing (I know that I've said I wouldn't use that word in this context, but I've succumbed to the force of popularity). Would the opponents of outsourcing really have us maintain the status quo indefinitely? Would they prefer that we all return to some sort idyllic community of farmers? Though there are certainly some who would answer in the affirmative to the latter question—and we have term for them, "hippies"—I'm quite happy to not be living in an agrarian society, dream as I might about someday owning a vineyard.