Tolerance as an Economic Principle
Uber-columnist David Brooks had another great article today, “The Crossroads Nation.” In it he considers what the key factors will be to our economic success in the 21st century. He’s right on target.
He describes how economic success will come from innovation, which springs from creative people who interact with other creatives to pursue their ideas (for more on this phenomena, see this amazing video summarizing the book by Stephen Johnson).
He then lays out the scenario for the 21st century:
Now imagine you are this creative person in the year 2010, 2025 or 2050. You are living in some small town in Ukraine or Kenya or some other place, foreign or domestic. You long to break out and go to a place where people are gathering to think about the things you are thinking about, creating the things you want to create.
Where will this “creative person” go to pursue their ideas? The answer to this question is key to 21st cent. economic growth: “The crucial fact about the new epoch is that creativity needs hubs… The nation that can make itself the crossroads to the world will have tremendous economic and political power.”
He goes on to say that the U.S. is well-situated to be this “crossroads nation” because of its respect for intellectual property, its venture capital, its universities, etc. All very true.
But I think he misses on two points: he doesn’t put enough emphasis on the key role of cultural tolerance in the equation; and he says that this dynamic is new, when really it’s been the case since the beginning of the U.S.
When these creative innovators are considering where to go to pursue their ideas, what do they see in the candidate countries? How tolerant are those countries to different ethnic, religious and cultural groups? How welcoming of immigrants in general? What sort of chance will the society grant them to build their innovation and pursue a happy life?
I recently read a great book, The Island at the Center of the World, that talks about the founding of New York—or New Amsterdam at the time—by the Dutch, who set the standard for cultural tolerance in the 17th century. While most colonies were homogenous religious settlements, New Amsterdam was a unique blend of different Christian denominations—Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, which was a radical blend for the time!—and other faiths. The result, the book argues, was a blend of risk-takers and different perspectives which gave New York great commercial advantage (e.g. connections into all of the major trading centers of the world), defined its character, and laid the foundation for its long-term economic success.
This is but one example of America’s long legacy of tolerance that has paved the way for its economic success. But what image do we project now? When a creative, risk-taking innovator from around the globe is considering where to set up shop, what does he see in the U.S.?
The answer will be key to our economic success in the 21st century, along with a number of others. So yes, when we are planning how to shape our nation and what leaders to choose, their positions on the national debt and fiscal discipline, on tax rates and energy policy will all be important. But American tolerance is a key economic principle as well. So when we discuss immigration policy, or the location of mosques, or gays in the military, those concerned about our economic future should realize that we are here impacting much more than just cultural issues. Instead we are shaping whether America’s legacy of tolerance—long an engine of our economic success—will continue to be the standard-barer of the world and a magnet for innovators or will surrender to fear and become a drag on our economic prosperity.
