What do Horace Greeley, Alexander Fleming and Katalin Karikó have in common? They reveal a tale of ambition, resilience, and the power of innovation to overcome systemic hurdles. From housing crises to mRNA breakthroughs, this is a call to reimagine governance, tackle inefficiencies, and embrace a bold vision of abundance.

Abundance

"Go West, young man," was advice famously attributed to Horace Greeley, yet ironically, he never followed it. Greeley built his fortune in bustling New York City, not the American frontier. His life reflected a tension in American history—while the nation romanticized the West, true prosperity was often made in the cities.

Throughout history, cities transformed natural abundance into economic mobility. Yet, the allure of the West persisted, even as urban centers became the real catalysts of change. The Great Depression intensified fears that without frontier expansion, America would stagnate. Yet, it was innovation, not land, which drove economic growth. 

Today, cities face a housing crisis, with median home prices in major cities like Manhattan and San Francisco soaring past a million dollars. The housing shortage is partly due to restrictive zoning laws and anti-growth policies that emerged in the 1970s. These policies hindered housing construction, leading to high costs and limited availability.

In contrast, places like Texas have embraced growth, permitting more new homes compared to California's coastal cities. Yet, the housing crisis in California has contributed to a homelessness epidemic, refuting claims that liberal policies alone caused the problem. In truth, homelessness is tied to housing shortages and the choices made by city planners. The rise of environmental regulations and anti-growth sentiments in the 1970s further complicated urban development, creating barriers that persist today.

Modern cities are vital as engines of innovation and mobility. Yet, high costs have restricted their ability to offer opportunities to all, creating barriers to upward mobility. The legacy of zoning laws and the politics of scarcity have transformed cities from places of opportunity to exclusive enclaves. 

As cities continue to shape the future, understanding the forces that shaped their present is crucial. We must address these challenges to ensure cities remain vibrant centers of creativity and opportunity for everyone.

Can America's Cities Overcome the Legacy of Horace Greeley?

Climate change challenges traditional political views, with the right embracing change and the left seeking to preserve our climate. Degrowth, a concept popular with some on the left, critiques humanity's endless growth aspirations, citing historical philosophical errors. 

Jason Hickel's "Less Is More" argues that capitalism has thrived by undermining holistic worldviews, contributing to today's ecological crisis. He likens degrowth's revolutionary potential to Darwin or Copernicus's breakthroughs but acknowledges that its radical shift requires time we don't have to tackle climate change effectively.

While degrowth aims to reduce production in damaging sectors like meat and dairy, widespread consensus on what constitutes "harmful" production is elusive. Despite the environmental costs of livestock farming, political resistance makes banning meat consumption impractical. Similarly, protests over rising energy costs show the challenge of convincing people to accept scarcity.

The story of California's high-speed rail exemplifies how political and procedural hurdles can stifle ambitious projects. Despite decades of effort and billions spent, the project remains incomplete. Meanwhile, countries like China have built thousands of miles of high-speed rail in less time.

The construction sector's productivity paradox illustrates broader systemic issues. Over time, complex regulations and competing interests have slowed progress, despite technological advancements. Mancur Olson's theory suggests that affluent societies become bogged down by organized groups, increasing negotiations and complicating development.

The environmental movement, driven by figures like Ralph Nader, has achieved significant victories but also created processes that now hinder necessary infrastructure development. Liberalism's emphasis on procedure over outcomes has led to a government that struggles to act efficiently, undermining trust.

To meet climate goals, a shift in political culture is needed, prioritizing speed and efficiency in infrastructure projects. This demands a reevaluation of environmental laws and processes to align them with current challenges. Balancing environmental protection with the urgency of climate action is crucial, but finding this balance is complex.

Degrowth Dilemmas: Urgent Call for Climate Action

In San Francisco’s Soma neighborhood, Tahanan stands as a beacon of hope for chronically homeless individuals. Completed in 2021, this supportive housing project offers 145 studio units at a cost and speed that defy typical Bay Area norms. 

While most affordable housing projects take years and cost hundreds of thousands more per unit, Tahanan was built in just three years for less than $400,000 per unit. How did they manage this feat? With the assistance of private financing and streamlined city and state legislation, avoiding the usual bureaucratic hurdles that public funds entail.

Tahanan’s success story unveils a complex debate about government efficiency. As affordable housing projects often become entangled in time-consuming regulations and requirements, Tahanan bypassed these by using private funds and modular housing, much to the chagrin of local unions. This approach, though controversial, highlights the inefficiencies in the current system where lengthy processes hinder rapid development.

The narrative expands beyond housing into broader governmental issues, questioning the efficiency of various public projects bogged down by procedural complexities. The weight-loss drug Ozempic, for example, costs ten times more in America than in Britain or France due to our fragmented healthcare system. This inefficiency is mirrored in the struggles of public housing projects across the U.S., like Los Angeles’ Proposition HHH, which promised 10,000 new apartments for the homeless but delivered far fewer at soaring costs.

The piece further criticizes the overly procedural approach of liberal governance, which often prioritizes rules over outcomes. This is seen in the semiconductor industry, where the CHIPS Act attempts to revive domestic manufacturing but is laden with additional requirements that complicate its primary goal.

The story concludes with a dramatic anecdote of the I-95 bridge collapse in Philadelphia. Governor Josh Shapiro’s emergency declaration bypassed usual regulations, enabling the bridge’s reopening in just twelve days. This incident demonstrates the potential of empowered leadership and streamlined processes to achieve rapid results, urging a reevaluation of current government practices.

In essence, the narrative calls for a shift from procedural rigidity to outcome-focused governance, where the aim is not merely to follow rules but to deliver tangible benefits swiftly and efficiently.

Can Streamlined Processes and Private Financing Revolutionize Affordable Housing?

Katalin Karikó's journey from a small Hungarian village to global scientific acclaim is a story of resilience and innovation. Growing up without modern conveniences, her first lessons in science came from hands-on experiences in her family's garden. 

Despite early hardships, Karikó pursued her passion for science, ultimately focusing on the potential of messenger RNA (mRNA) over the more popular DNA. Her groundbreaking ideas faced relentless rejection, with funding bodies dismissing her research as too risky.

Yet, Karikó persisted, driven by a deep love for discovery and a belief in mRNA's transformative potential. Her dedication bore fruit decades later when mRNA technology became the foundation for COVID-19 vaccines, saving millions of lives worldwide. This triumph underscores the importance of invention in tackling global challenges, highlighting how new technologies can emerge from unexpected places to reshape the world.

The success of mRNA vaccines also serves as a cautionary tale about the biases within American science funding. Despite its historical achievements, the National Institutes of Health has been criticized for favoring safe, conformist research over bold, novel ideas. This "Karikó Problem" reveals a systemic issue: the reluctance to fund high-risk projects that could lead to breakthroughs.

The story of Karikó and the mRNA vaccines calls for a reimagining of science funding and innovation in the U.S. Inspired by institutions like DARPA and Bell Labs, which empowered visionary program managers to pursue radical ideas, there's a need for new models that encourage risk-taking and collaboration across disciplines.

To foster a new era of invention, the American science system could benefit from experiments in funding models, reducing bureaucratic barriers, and establishing new research centers that prioritize ambitious, long-term projects. By embracing a metascience approach—studying and experimenting with the process of scientific discovery itself—the U.S. can better identify and nurture the next generation of innovators like Katalin Karikó, ensuring that the potential for progress remains an integral part of our future.

Katalin Karikó: Revolutionizing Science Against All Odds

In the fall of 1928, Alexander Fleming returned to his London lab to find an unexpected discovery—a mold had contaminated his staphylococcus samples, killing much of the bacteria. He identified this mold as Penicillium, dubbing its bacteria-killing substance penicillin. 

Though initially stuck, further experiments by others showed penicillin’s promise in treating infections, leading to its mass production during World War II. This breakthrough saved millions, yet the true story of its impact lies in its implementation rather than its initial discovery.

The narrative of progress often focuses on eureka moments, celebrating the genius behind inventions like the lightbulb and airplane. However, history shows that real progress stems from the hard work of implementation—transforming ideas into scalable, impactful solutions. This requires a blend of invention and practical execution, where microinventions refine and scale breakthroughs to make them useful.

The US government played a crucial role in penicillin's transformation from a lab discovery to a lifesaving medicine by solving production challenges and ensuring distribution. Similarly, Operation Warp Speed, a government initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated vaccine development, distribution, and administration, demonstrating the power of coordinated government action to solve complex problems.

Yet, the US has struggled with domestic deployment of its inventions, losing ground in areas like solar energy and clean technology. This stems from a reliance on the eureka myth and neglect of the necessary steps to build and implement new technologies at scale. Political focus must shift from invention alone to embracing the broader challenge of bringing inventions to life, through thoughtful policy and investment.

America faces a choice between scarcity and abundance. Scarcity breeds suspicion and isolation, while abundance promises progress, collaboration, and shared prosperity. The US must move past the eureka myth and focus on building what it invents, ensuring that technological advancements translate into real-world improvements. This shift requires political will and a commitment to overcoming bottlenecks and fostering innovation.

As the nation grapples with challenges in housing, science, and clean energy, it must choose a path that prioritizes abundance, encouraging growth, and enabling new technologies to address pressing issues. Abundance is not just about more; it's about more of what matters, aligning technology with the needs of the planet and humanity. It's a call for liberalism that builds, fostering progress through a renewed focus on implementation and collaboration.

Is America Ready to Trade the Eureka Myth for True Abundance in Science and Innovation?

The romanticized notion of the American West contrasts with the reality that prosperity often stems from urban innovation rather than frontier expansion. Cities have historically driven economic mobility, yet today face a housing crisis due to restrictive zoning laws and anti-growth policies. 

Growing cities like those in Texas show a different path, embracing development. Homelessness often results from housing shortages and planning choices, not just political ideology.

The concept of degrowth challenges endless growth aspirations, yet the practical application remains contentious. Political and procedural barriers hinder ambitious projects like California's high-speed rail, highlighting inefficiencies in liberal governance. A shift towards outcome-focused governance is necessary to deliver tangible benefits swiftly.

Katalin Karikó's journey exemplifies the resilience needed for scientific innovation, revealing biases in U.S. science funding. Encouraging high-risk, collaborative projects can foster breakthroughs. Historical inventions like penicillin show the importance of implementation over mere discovery. The U.S. must focus on deploying its innovations effectively, moving beyond the eureka myth to prioritize abundance and collaboration.

Addressing challenges in housing, science, and clean energy requires a commitment to fostering innovation and implementing solutions. This approach promises shared prosperity by aligning technological advancements with humanity's needs, choosing a path of abundance through liberalism that builds and enables progress.

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Abundance

Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson

6 Key ideas

16 MINS

What do Horace Greeley, Alexander Fleming and Katalin Karikó have in common?

They reveal a tale of ambition, resilience, and the power of innovation to overcome systemic hurdles. From housing crises to mRNA breakthroughs, this is a call to reimagine governance, tackle inefficiencies, and embrace a bold vision of abundance.

What do Horace Greeley, Alexander Fleming and Katalin Karikó have in common?

They reveal a tale of ambition, resilience, and the power of innovation to overcome systemic hurdles. From housing crises to mRNA breakthroughs, this is a call to reimagine governance, tackle inefficiencies, and embrace a bold vision of abundance.

Improve your Career, Health & Life with 15min insights from 9000+ non-fiction books

Key Ideas

#1

Can America's Cities Overcome the Legacy of Horace Greeley?

#2

Degrowth Dilemmas: Urgent Call for Climate Action

#3

Can Streamlined Processes and Private Financing Revolutionize Affordable Housing?

#4

Katalin Karikó: Revolutionizing Science Against All Odds

#5

Is America Ready to Trade the Eureka Myth for True Abundance in Science and Innovation?

#6

Final Recap

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