A Positive Decade

Tyler Cowen and Bryan Caplan both write about how good this past decade was. I’m inclined to agree. Bryan takes the long view, comparing the naughts to the rest of the century, which happened to have world wars and/or the Soviet Union. My favorite sentence from either of them:

It might be pleasant to boast that America is — or should be — a world leader in every area, but the practical reality is that if some other country solves the problem of green energy, so much the better for us.

This worldview, that the success of another country is not an automatic detriment to our own, is a big part of what draws me to Masonomics. The idea that we can be in competition with China and still benefit if they “win” a technological arms race, is wonderful.

I would add to that by emphasizing the quality of entertainment that came in the first decade of the 21st century. Just to use TV and film as a representative for the whole industry: spectacular television like The Sopranos, Pixar’s re-invention of animation, and the rise of the superhero movie helped to make this a stupendous decade for both the big and small screen. Now imagine India and China contributing to not just tech, but to entertainment. I guess that’s something to look forward to in this century.