Beating American Defeatism

The U.S. enables innovation, while the rest of the world is mired in statism

By Andy Kessler. Excerpts:

"Technology is the driver of global growth. Six U.S.-based technology companies are worth more than $1 trillion. Actually, U.S. stocks make up almost 70% of the MSCI World Index, a proxy for global equities. That’s no accident. The U.S. enables innovation, while the rest of the world, with a few exceptions such as TSMC, ASML and Novo Nordisk, is mired in statism. Japan was an exception until industrial policy misdirected its economy."

"From 2010 to 2023, the cumulative economic growth in the U.S. was 34% vs. 21% for the European Union.

Why? Simple: Capital flows to where it’s treated best. Like entrepreneurs, capital looks for opportunity, merit and upside. Democracy is the political system of choice because it best enables capitalism. Generative AI and large language models require boodles of capital and our markets obliged, sending Nvidia to the moon, for now."

"In 2022, China’s purchasing power parity GDP per capita at $21,476 was 72nd in the world, right behind Mexico. The U.S. was eighth at $76,399. Wake me up when they get closer."