There have been multiple discussions here about innovation, or the lack thereof in China and the EU compared to the USA. It is not that the Chinese or Europeans cannot innovate, it is that innovation occurs more frequently in America.
The primary reason for this is immigration. The number of immigrants we bring in and how we treat them has historically been the foundation of what we sometimes call “American Exceptionalism”.
The numbers are pretty clear. About 45% of the current Fortune 500 was started by “new Americans” (first or second generation immigrants). Four of the Magnificent Seven companies have foreign born CEOs. The majority of unicorn startups were founded by immigrants. Immigrant kids raise the average scores on the ACT, SAT, and MCATs.
Ronald Reagan is perhaps not the most popular president here, but he was eloquent in his understanding of the immigrant impact. From a speech in the final year of his presidency, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom | Ronald Reagan
We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people – our strength – from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation. While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life into dreams. We create the future, and the world follows us into tomorrow. Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.
He also understood is that America’s Exceptionalism was not simply taking immigrants in, but also in accepting them into society. We are a “Melting Pot” rather than “Multicultural”. We blend rather than keep separate.
“You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”
America’s economic strength comes primarily from the fact that we Americans are mongrels. That is our one advantage over the rest of the world. Everyone else competes as Chinese or Germans or Japanese, etc. We compete as a hybridization of all peoples.