>with almost zero external pressures a lot of government action happens in the context of competition between nation states with stakes that can be much more i

>with almost zero external pressures a lot of government action happens in the context of competition between nation states with stakes that can be much more intense than in the private market. That's how you got the Meiji Restoration, The Prussian education system that's now everywhere, lots of fancy tech during the Cold War, and much of China's gains during the last 30 years. Much off the innovation in the US is government driven, military technological superiority. The Silicon Valley far from being some sort of private market Mecca has its roots in the defense sector.