Tyler Cowen

Well, we're a big country, again, full of people from all over. So if you're somewhat different, nobody thinks it's so strange. People in general don't necessarily think it's bad. You're given a lot of freedom to operate. Many of our social norms are pretty loose. That's not in all contexts a good thing.

Well, we're a big country, again, full of people from all over. So if you're somewhat different, nobody thinks it's so strange. People in general don't necessarily think it's bad. You're given a lot of freedom to operate. Many of our social norms are pretty loose. That's not in all contexts a good thing.

But when it comes to freedom to create, freedom to innovate, daring to think differently, I think just at the sociological level, you have more freedom here than anywhere else on Earth by quite a good margin.

But when it comes to freedom to create, freedom to innovate, daring to think differently, I think just at the sociological level, you have more freedom here than anywhere else on Earth by quite a good margin.

Well, I think Japan is a good point of comparison. Japan is a highly admirable society, and it has some remarkable features. You can leave your wallet on a park bench, and it will still be there. Rates of crime, most crime are close to zero. There's no real risk of violence. Those are all virtues of Japanese society. But in part, they come from conformity.

Well, I think Japan is a good point of comparison. Japan is a highly admirable society, and it has some remarkable features. You can leave your wallet on a park bench, and it will still be there. Rates of crime, most crime are close to zero. There's no real risk of violence. Those are all virtues of Japanese society. But in part, they come from conformity.

And when it comes to innovation, in most areas, Japan has been and remains far behind the United States. So some of our good features and some of our bad features actually come together. I think overall for us, the mix works.

And when it comes to innovation, in most areas, Japan has been and remains far behind the United States. So some of our good features and some of our bad features actually come together. I think overall for us, the mix works.

Well, I lived in Germany for a while. Germany is very orderly. That's a good feature of the country. Germans are very disciplined. They're quite likely to show up on time. Rebellion there is harder. In German politics, it's quite difficult to truly speak the truth or be very controversial. German politicians always sound reasonable. I'm not sure in all states of the world that is a good thing.

Well, I lived in Germany for a while. Germany is very orderly. That's a good feature of the country. Germans are very disciplined. They're quite likely to show up on time. Rebellion there is harder. In German politics, it's quite difficult to truly speak the truth or be very controversial. German politicians always sound reasonable. I'm not sure in all states of the world that is a good thing.

It clearly has its advantages. And what we've seen in Germany is the former manufacturing sector is getting weaker and weaker. And Germany is not really doing anything about that. They've messed up their energy sector. They've been dependent on Russia and China too much. So they've made a lot of mistakes. For all their reasonableness, they don't actually have very good error correction mechanisms.

It clearly has its advantages. And what we've seen in Germany is the former manufacturing sector is getting weaker and weaker. And Germany is not really doing anything about that. They've messed up their energy sector. They've been dependent on Russia and China too much. So they've made a lot of mistakes. For all their reasonableness, they don't actually have very good error correction mechanisms.

And some of that, I think, is due to their excess conformity.

And some of that, I think, is due to their excess conformity.

Well, we're the largest economy. That claim is slightly complicated because there is China. But per capita, we're the richest economy. And Chinese companies are much less successful exporting abroad than American companies. In part, they have less experience at it. But there's also a lower level of trust. If it is, say, a tech company that will have your personal data.

Well, we're the largest economy. That claim is slightly complicated because there is China. But per capita, we're the richest economy. And Chinese companies are much less successful exporting abroad than American companies. In part, they have less experience at it. But there's also a lower level of trust. If it is, say, a tech company that will have your personal data.

I think over time, Chinese companies will be as large as the American ones. But right now, our lead there is pretty strong, and it's not going away anytime soon.

I think over time, Chinese companies will be as large as the American ones. But right now, our lead there is pretty strong, and it's not going away anytime soon.

Well, there's business and there's big business. If you're comparing big business to small business, big business pays higher wages. It gives you better job security. People actually overall are happier working in big businesses. There's more people they can talk to or hang out with.

Well, there's business and there's big business. If you're comparing big business to small business, big business pays higher wages. It gives you better job security. People actually overall are happier working in big businesses. There's more people they can talk to or hang out with.