Freedom, Not Planning, Made America an Innovation Superpower |
The United States represents less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it produces more than 20 percent of global GDP. That kind of outsized impact isn’t an accident, and it isn’t the result of centralized planning. It’s the product of a system built, from the beginning, to prioritize freedom, protect ideas, and reward risk-taking.
Consider one of the earliest signals of that intent: on April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the first U.S. Patent Act. In doing so, the young nation made a clear statement: if you create something new, it belongs to you. That protection of intellectual property helped unleash generations of inventors, entrepreneurs, and builders. It’s no coincidence that the same country went on to pioneer breakthroughs from the light bulb to the airplane to the........