<Li> The early modern period began approximately in the early 16th century; notable historical milestones included the European Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, and the Protestant Reformation . </Li> <Li> The late modern period began approximately in the mid-18th century; notable historical milestones included the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Divergence, and the Russian Revolution . It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world's population to reach 1 billion; the next billion came just over a century later, in 1927 . </Li> <Li> Contemporary history is the span of historic events from approximately 1945 that are immediately relevant to the present time . </Li> <P> In the pre-modern era, many people's sense of self and purpose was often expressed via a faith in some form of deity, be it that in a single God or in many gods . Pre-modern cultures have not been thought of creating a sense of distinct individuality, though . Religious officials, who often held positions of power, were the spiritual intermediaries to the common person . It was only through these intermediaries that the general masses had access to the divine . Tradition was sacred to ancient cultures and was unchanging and the social order of ceremony and morals in a culture could be strictly enforced . </P>

Which of the following is a characteristic of modern economic growth