Rhetoric aside, Americans fundamentally believe that tomorrow will be a sunny day. That explains their propensity to spend, borrow, and spend some more. The Chinese and the Japanese, on the other hand, always believe there may be an earthquake or some other disaster around the corner, so they feel the need to put something by. I admire the optimism in American society: their can-do approach to life, their belief that every problem can be solved if resources are brought to bear on it and that everything can be broken up, analysed and redefined. But I probably would not want to live in America
...more
