Saikat Chakrabarti

So, Kat? Well, I actually agree with a lot of the goal of abundance. And I think everyone here agrees that America is really stuck. And the specific reasons why we're stuck, I think, might be where there's some disagreement or this broader than a thing than just process.

So, Kat? Well, I actually agree with a lot of the goal of abundance. And I think everyone here agrees that America is really stuck. And the specific reasons why we're stuck, I think, might be where there's some disagreement or this broader than a thing than just process.

But the thing I really want to add to the discussion and the question we've been studying at New Consensus has been, how do countries get unstuck? Because if you look at the history of the 20th century,

But the thing I really want to add to the discussion and the question we've been studying at New Consensus has been, how do countries get unstuck? Because if you look at the history of the 20th century,

Every modern developed nation, most of them liberal democracies, they went through these phases of rapidly transforming their economies and creating absurd levels of prosperity for pretty much everyone in their society. And, you know, they often did it after these periods of being really stuck.

Every modern developed nation, most of them liberal democracies, they went through these phases of rapidly transforming their economies and creating absurd levels of prosperity for pretty much everyone in their society. And, you know, they often did it after these periods of being really stuck.

America and the mobilization for World War II, we did after years of stagnation and the Great Depression. And what we've sort of seen is countries seem to do it by pitching the sort of sweeping transformation of the whole economy and executing at breakneck speed, they flip into this whole other mode of operating that I think is really different than how we operate today in America.

America and the mobilization for World War II, we did after years of stagnation and the Great Depression. And what we've sort of seen is countries seem to do it by pitching the sort of sweeping transformation of the whole economy and executing at breakneck speed, they flip into this whole other mode of operating that I think is really different than how we operate today in America.

And we've been calling it mission mode at New Consensus, but it's different three really distinct ways. Countries in mission mode They have this whole other kind of leadership that pops up that doesn't just pitch a mission. They actually follow through and execute. They organize society actively to be a part of it. And really importantly, they capture the national attention.

And we've been calling it mission mode at New Consensus, but it's different three really distinct ways. Countries in mission mode They have this whole other kind of leadership that pops up that doesn't just pitch a mission. They actually follow through and execute. They organize society actively to be a part of it. And really importantly, they capture the national attention.

You know, they really make a show of the progress. They call it the heroes and they use that as political capital to blow through obstacles, whether that's corporate monopolies or process. And the second part is they make comprehensive plans. They don't just pass a bunch of policies and take their hands off the steering wheel.

You know, they really make a show of the progress. They call it the heroes and they use that as political capital to blow through obstacles, whether that's corporate monopolies or process. And the second part is they make comprehensive plans. They don't just pass a bunch of policies and take their hands off the steering wheel.

They actually plan for all the things that will need to happen to make things happen. And, you know, third piece is they create financing and executing institutions. And so America used to have a bunch of these all across our society. You know, during World War II, the largest that we've ever had was one called the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

They actually plan for all the things that will need to happen to make things happen. And, you know, third piece is they create financing and executing institutions. And so America used to have a bunch of these all across our society. You know, during World War II, the largest that we've ever had was one called the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

And the RFC wasn't just a public investment bank. It was like a project manager. It would go out and find problems and find bottlenecks and push and actively make sure stuff got done, things got built, do whatever is necessary to just push things along. And we've really tried to find examples of societies that managed to do this kind of broad-based work. prosperity through iterative slow reforms.

And the RFC wasn't just a public investment bank. It was like a project manager. It would go out and find problems and find bottlenecks and push and actively make sure stuff got done, things got built, do whatever is necessary to just push things along. And we've really tried to find examples of societies that managed to do this kind of broad-based work. prosperity through iterative slow reforms.

And it's really hard to find a single society that did it. You know, it's there's something about the scale and speed of a sweeping transformation that creates this momentum that gives you this escape velocity where these countries finally get the gumption to tackle all these obstacles that are standing in the way of progress.

And it's really hard to find a single society that did it. You know, it's there's something about the scale and speed of a sweeping transformation that creates this momentum that gives you this escape velocity where these countries finally get the gumption to tackle all these obstacles that are standing in the way of progress.

And so that's the big piece that's missing for how do you actually get past all these obstacles that we're talking about.

And so that's the big piece that's missing for how do you actually get past all these obstacles that we're talking about.