Failure's Success

There seems to be an abundance of literature and analyses regarding the future of U.S. dominion, as the shadow of China grows over the United States.

The secret lies in the ability of the U.S. to continue innovating, according to analysts and economists. In essence, the U.S. needs to uphold a level of ideological hegemony. Moreover, the concept is that all ideas must originate in the U.S., even if everything is produced in China.

My initial reaction — as a descendant of the Third World — is: Not only are the Americans owners of these ideas, but they also own the concepts. We have no life.

But little by little, logic needed to understand this cycle overrides such a defense mechanism.

My American* hero, the economist Tim Harford, states that 10 percent of the companies in the U.S. fail. Although this sum may not seem much, it is extremely high and interesting because it reflects the need for companies to quickly develop in order to reinvent themselves. Failure brings about a process of natural selection for “a higher species.”

By applying Darwin’s theory, evolution depends on a “previous lower species” that improves over time. Fundamentally, the failure of U.S. companies is undoubtedly rooted in their success.

Natural selection and variation, trial and error.

The bottom line is simple. In order to breed fantastic ideas, one must go through many unsuccessful versions. If the optimal conditions for brewing are not met, then the evolution process is impossible.

However, this is not performed at random; instead this is a logical, methodological and precise process. The most difficult thing is to make good mistakes.

It is only applicable if the final objective is the creation of something and not its destruction. For this reason, it is impossible for our people to “fail” in the future.

*Translator’s Note: Tim Harford is British, not American.