The Origin of Wealth

Epilogue

THERE IS A MAASAI LEGEND that in the mid-eighteenth century, one of their great leaders had a dream of a white flock of birds that devastated their lands. The leader also dreamt of a giant snake that stretched inland from the sea and took away the Maasai people. The Maasai interpret the white birds as foretelling their encounter with European settlers, and the snake as foretelling the building of the Mombasa railroad. For over a century, ever since these forces arrived on their doorstep, the Maasai have struggled to preserve their ancient nomadic way of life.

As I sat in the hut of the Maasai elder, I thought about how the course of ...