The point made here by David Brooks of the New York Times is SO important in terms of the capacity to innovate for any society . . .

When European settlers first came to North America, they saw flocks of geese so big that it took them 30 minutes to all take flight and forests that seemed to stretch to infinity. They came to two conclusions: that God’s plans for humanity could be completed here, and that they could get really rich in the process.

This moral materialism fomented a certain sort of manic energy. Americans became famous for their energy and workaholism: for moving around, switching jobs, marrying and divorcing, creating new products and going off on righteous crusades.

It may seem like an ephemeral thing, but this eschatological faith in the future has motivated generations of Americans, just as religious faith motivates a missionary. Pioneers and immigrants endured hardship in the present because of their confidence in future plenty. Entrepreneurs start up companies with an exaggerated sense of their chances of success. The faith is the molten core of the country’s dynamism.

There are also periodic crises of faith. Today, the rise of China is producing such a crisis. It is not only China’s economic growth rate that produces this anxiety. The deeper issue is spiritual. The Chinese, though members of a famously old civilization, seem to possess some of the vigor that once defined the U.S. The Chinese are now an astonishingly optimistic people. Eighty-six percent of Chinese believe their country is headed in the right direction, compared with 37 percent of Americans.

Read more . . .

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Tags: david brooks, faith in the future, manic energy, periodic crises, religious faith, rise of china, the nation of futurity, workaholism

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 9:49 am and is filed under Civilization, Consider This, Innovation Needed, Innovation in Society, NY Times, Shape of Things to Come?, learning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.