Can America make a comeback? | Tyler Cowen

An interview with economist Tyler Cowen on why American progress has seemed to stall and how we can get it back on track.

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The rate of progress in American society has been uneven throughout history, argues economist Tyler Cowen. Tremendous periods of growth are followed by periods of stagnation.

Periods of growth occur when there is a breakthrough, and other advances quickly follow. For example, the Industrial Revolution and electrification of homes allowed the standard of living to grow at a fast rate, particularly in the early to mid-20th century.

But starting in the 70s, progress slowed. One reason is that the easier tasks, like electrification, had already been accomplished. Also, government regulation and a general aversion to risk have made Americans less entrepreneurial. As a result, progress has slowed, and we have not matched our earlier performance.

Today, we are at a pivotal crossroads between stagnation and growth. To get back to a growth mindset, he argues, we need to stop taking our prosperity for granted.

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This video is part of The Progress Issue, a Big Think and Freethink special collaboration.

It’s time for a return to optimism. Enjoy the full issue now ► https://bigthink.com/special-issues/the-progress-issue

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About Tyler Cowen
Tyler is the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University and serves as chairman and general director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution and co-founder of the online educational platform Marginal Revolution University. Tyler also writes a column for Bloomberg View, and he has contributed to The Wall Street Journal and Money. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek profiled Tyler as “America’s Hottest Economist” after his e-book, The Great Stagnation, appeared twice on The New York Times e-book bestseller list. He graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor's degree in economics and earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He also runs a podcast series called Conversations with Tyler. His latest book Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives and Winners Around the World is co-authored with venture capitalist Daniel Gross.

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Enjoy more of our stories from The Progress Issue:
What’s the role of optimism in creating the future?
► https://bigthink.com/progress/progress-special-editor-letter
The great progression, 2025-2050
► https://bigthink.com/progress/the-great-progression-peter-leyden
What would a progress agenda look like? We asked the experts.
► https://bigthink.com/progress/progress-agenda

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