The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy

“I do not think that unemployment is among those evils which, like poverty, capitalist evolution could ever eliminate of itself.”

Unlike those in my generation whose first step after college was, more often than not, onto a corporate conveyor belt, the students I see today are no more likely to be enthralled by the promise of a corner office than they are by a ride to the love-in on the Magic Bus.

Trade is exalted because it represents the advancement of the interests of both parties involved—in contrast with banditry, which advances the interests only of the bandit, to the detriment of the victim.

For example, why does water, which is essential for life, cost nothing, while diamonds, which are mere ornaments, are highly valued? The resolution to this problem turned out to be in the effects of scarcity: goods whose supply is low relative to demand will command a higher price than goods whose supply is abundant relative to demand.

Potential answers to that question are, of course, limitless. But, at the start of the twenty-first century, a few will stand out: “I know how to connect”; “I know how to create”; “I know how to contribute”; and “I know how to collaborate.”

It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Like nations, individuals have to find a functional balance between order (skills) and adaptability (creativity).

“Baby Boomers are more idealistic, loyal to their companies. Gen X are more pragmatic, loyal to their career. Gen Y are more spontaneous, loyal to

Seriously. In part that’s because the economics of the twentieth century was overwhelmingly about how best to share existing “pies” of human well-being, rather than how