Question

Were America's great industrial giants champions of free enterprise?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

William Baumol, the 88-year-old shoo-in for a Nobel Prize in economics, has spent years understanding why and how capitalism works. The key ingredient, he says, is the risk taker, the person willing to gamble time and money on an unproven idea. Since 1900 the U.S. has enjoyed a boom in productivity and living standards unparalleled in human history. The central actor in that rise has been the entrepreneur, supported by the four pillars of free enterprise: the free flow of ideas, the free flow of capital, open and fair competition, and respect for property rights. "It is like a mechanical watch, where if one wheel is missing the whole thing stops," says Baumol. On the following pages we kick off a new series in which we profile entrepreneurs who are champions of each pillar. Paul Tierney puts money into capital-starved Africa, seeking above-average returns. Krisztina Holly speeds the flow of ideas out of her university so they can turn into businesses. Alan Miller is one of the staunchest advocates for private competition in health care. Web pirate Peter Sunde, an unlikely hero of property rights, has a new company helping digital creators get paid for their work. They're proving Baumol's economic theory every day.