The "Secret Sauce" of US Success


I wanted to expand on the thinking I expressed on July 4th when I talked about the remarkable secret sauce that produced the exceptional success that the United States has had over the last 250 years. It consisted of bringing together three unique factors:
A Diverse Cultural Mix: A mixture of relatively poor, hardworking immigrant people with diverse cultures. One might have thought they would clash, but instead, they worked well together.
Exceptional Freedom: A degree of liberty that many thought would cause disorder and breakup. Instead, it led to a chaotic, rapid evolution.
A Democratic Federalist System: A government where the masses rule over the leaders. One might have thought this would lead to constant fighting and political stalemates, but instead, it led to compromises and rule-following—even when many thought the decisions were wrong and against their interests.
Rather than believing that the United States is intrinsically successful, I believe that it, like all successful countries throughout history, has been successful because of these specific causes. Today, there is a high risk of losing sight of those causes and the success they brought about.
The 3 Essential Ingredients for Any Country
From studying history, I've learned that while there were many "secret sauces" that have worked, those that worked best for all countries throughout history have three essential ingredients:
Quality Childhood Education: Educating children well so that when they grow into adults, they have what it takes to be productive. It also builds the civility needed to be good with each other so they can be collectively successful and share the rewards of their success.
An Effective Total System: Having a good overall structure for government that consists of an effective political system, an effective legal/governance system, and an effective money/economic system that benefits most of its people (who in turn appreciate and support the system).
Avoiding (or Winning) Big Wars: Staying out of wars—both civil and international—that are big enough to ruin the country, or winning them if they do happen.
Current Warning Signs & Domestic Disparities
I have been a great beneficiary of experiencing those things and admire all countries that have them. However, by my objective indicators (see my Country Power Index), the United States is weakening in some key ways. I am worried for the United States because it is losing sight of the principles that have bound Americans together. We cannot take it for granted that the United States won't decline the way many other great countries have.
To succeed, Americans need to reflect deeply on what works and look at the KPIs objectively. Today, few people would disagree with these broken realities:
The Public Sector is Broken: The American public education system is broken, the public healthcare system is broken, and the government responsible for managing these things is broken.
The Capitalist System is Disproportionate: The capitalist private market system has created great productivity-improving innovations, wealth, and power—but primarily for the top 10% of the population who can afford to bypass troubled public systems.
The Bottom 60% are Falling Behind: Those in the lower 60% are falling behind in the quality of their education, healthcare, and housing. Due to low gains in productivity, real incomes, and real wealth, they are not happy with how things are going.
The Political Deadlock
As a result, there are irreconcilable differences between those who are doing well and those who aren't. Willingness to compromise is falling, while the willingness to fight the other side is increasing. While the aggregate economic numbers look pretty good, the disparities are dangerously large and causing an emerging great conflict.
I don't see solutions being brought forward by the increasingly extreme sides: