Innovations and entrepreneurship have been some of the main subjects examined in the previous chapters, and, as pointed out in this concluding one, their promotion must be the focus of policies whose goal is to restore the wealth of nations.

One should not be surprised to learn that such policies, today called “industrial strategies” or “industrial policies,” have always been nationalistic in character and were advocated by some social scientists and politicians when their nation started falling behind. The sudden relative prosperity of others (achieved through innovations) was perceived as a threat by those outdone. And with good reasons: Those who lost ground by being undersold could choose between lowering aspirations (and thus reducing wages and standards of living) or maintain aspirations and then make greater efforts, become more productive and innovative.