The publication is a popular author's presentation of the economic patterns that make our world what it is today. Fundamental events in the history of mankind are passed through the prism of economics and economic processes: changes in formations, the discovery and conquest of new continents and lands, the emergence of religious doctrines, wars, their prerequisites and consequences. Particular attention is paid to Global Projects that dictate their terms to the world; crises, their origin, development and results. The author, a famous Russian economist and political scientist, Mikhail Khazin, writes that the book reflects “how I would like the teaching of economics to look like, what line this science should be built on.” Second edition, corrected and expanded.