Commentary

Cautious or Exuberant?

Don’t be like rigid Europe, says Michael Mandel. America has a duty to be the world leader in freewheeling innovation. It’s the difference between cautious growth and exuberant growth: Cautious growth depends on investment in physical capital ââ?¬â?? and that is not one of America’s strong points. Other countries have much higher savings rates ââ?¬â?? as well as less expensive workers. There was no way for the United States to compete on those terms. Exuberant growth instead builds on the real competitive advantage that the United States has, not in capital, not in education ââ?¬â?? but in risk-taking. Private space travel emerged from risk-taking. For those interested, I have an article on that in today’s Investor’ Business Daily (unfortunately, it’s not among the free content).