Ask a loaded question and you get your answer
Anatole Kaletsky answers his own question: “The President is a dolt – so how can America be such a success story?”, with the straightest of answers (always the most telling):
“The American approach has a powerful advantage rooted in human nature: private sector activity is powered by economic incentives, while the State must operate by rules and sanctions. Since incentives, as Adam Smith observed, are much more likely to stimulate creativity and effort than sanctions, private enterprise tends to achieve ambitious objectives, while government often fails.” Times (London) 2 February
Seems we European expect too much from our governments and suffer hurt when we are short changed (as we mostly are), but Americans? They have a low opinion of what any of their governments do for them, hence, are less disaappointed when they get what they expect from them, which is not much, and probably less than that.
“The American approach has a powerful advantage rooted in human nature: private sector activity is powered by economic incentives, while the State must operate by rules and sanctions. Since incentives, as Adam Smith observed, are much more likely to stimulate creativity and effort than sanctions, private enterprise tends to achieve ambitious objectives, while government often fails.” Times (London) 2 February
Seems we European expect too much from our governments and suffer hurt when we are short changed (as we mostly are), but Americans? They have a low opinion of what any of their governments do for them, hence, are less disaappointed when they get what they expect from them, which is not much, and probably less than that.
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