While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere âDemocrats say this, Republicans say thatâ dance, tech and legal journalis
Thereâs something important to understand about innovation. It doesnât actually happen in a vacuum. The reason Silicon Valley became Silicon Valley wasnât because a bunch of genius inventors happened to like California weather. It was because of a complex web of institutions that made innovation possible: courts that would enforce contracts (but not non-competes, allowing ideas to spread quickly and freely across industries), universities that shared research, a financial system that could fund new ideas, and laws that let people actually try those ideas out. And surrounding it all: a fairly stable economy, stability in global markets and (more recently) a strong belief in a global open internet. And now weâre watching Musk, Trump, and their allies destroy these foundations. They operate under the dangerous delusion of the âgreat manâ theory of innovation â the false belief that revolutionary changes come solely from lone geniuses, rather than from the complex interplay of open systems, diverse perspectives, and stable institutions that actually drives progress. The reality has always been much messier. Innovation happens when lots of different people can try lots of different ideas. When information flows freely. When someone can start a company without worrying that the government will investigate them for criticizing an oligarch. When diverse perspectives can actually contribute to the conversation. You know â all the things that are currently under attack. But you need a stable economy and stable infrastructure to make that work. And you need an openness to ideas and collaboration and (gasp) diversity to actually getting the most out of people.











