Why was history's most useful invention once dismissed as good-for-nothing? In this episode of Johan Norberg’s New and Improved, Norberg shares the surprising history of the personal computer and how the world's elite once believed it to be a worthless novelty item.

The incredible device that drives the modern world, providing every convenience of daily life and displacing dozens of other machines and services, was once considered by both Soviets and Americans to be an economic dead-end.

Only the unique advantages of a decentralized free market gave technological visionaries the chance to prove to the world what a massive value the PC could be.