Note: this is a crosspost from my Substack, Positive Sum.
I'm spending the next six months reading 30+ books about innovation policy, trying to understand a perspective I've been disregarding my whole career.
Our tech policy debates are stuck because we're talking past each other. Arguments continually circle back to one thing: whether regulation will harm innovation.
Usually, us leftists see “protecting innovation” as a weak, catch-all excuse used by people on the right. A superficial one at best, a cover for greed at worst.
But now, because of progress writers, AI, and my decade in government, I am intensely curious:
What actually is the nature of innovation? Which regulations helped or hurt? How do you prevent the kind of public backlash that killed nuclear power? What types of private governance actually work?
I’ll post here on Substack as I learn from these books.
The list is based on recommendations from researchers at libertarian and progress-focused think tanks, innovation-focused philanthropic organizations, friends, and Claude.
I’m a few books short of 35. Do you have any recommendations?
0. Pre-reading:
How to Measure Anything by Douglas W. Hubbard, on how to make back-of-the-envelope estimates. A useful skill for the rest of the syllabus.
Innovation, growth, and societal advancement from historical, cultural, and economic perspectives
"The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World" by David Deutsch (foundational philosophical framework)
"Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy" by Joel Mokyr
"Levers of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress" by Joel Mokyr
"Secrets of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter" by anthropologist Joseph Henrich
“The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous” by Joseph Henrich
“A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World” by Gregory Clark
"How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom" by Matt Ridley
"Knowledge and Power: The Information Theory of Capitalism and How it is Revolutionizing our World" by George Gilder
"Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages" by Carlota Perez
"Science: The Endless Frontier" by Vannevar Bush (Historical foundation for US innovation policy)
"From Poverty to Prosperity: Intangible Assets, Hidden Liabilities and The Lasting Triumph over Scarcity" by Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz
"The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date" by Samuel Arbesman
Understanding Gradual Disempowerment, Bureaucracy, and Complexity
“Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth: A U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War" by Robert Gordon (Major influence on the stagnation debate)
"The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better" by Tyler Cowen
“Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back” by Marc J. Dunkelman
The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government by Philip Howard OR his other book The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America
"Where Is My Flying Car?: A Memoir of Future Past" by J. Storrs Hall (Analysis of regulatory barriers)
“The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind First” by Dan Davies
"The Collapse of Complex Societies" by Joseph Tainter (Often cited regarding regulatory accumulation and societal decline)
"Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA" by Daniel Carpenter (Deep dive into a specific regulatory body's dynamics)
"Chapter 16 Rise of the Regulatory State" from The Oxford Handbook of Business and Government (academic look at the growth of regulation)
"The Regulatory Craft: Controlling Risks, Solving Problems, and Managing Compliance" by Malcolm K. Sparrow (On the practice and challenges of regulation)
"Simpler Government: How to Eliminate Bureaucracy, Make Government Work Better, and Serve the Public More Effectively" by Cass Sunstein (On streamlining and improving regulation from a former "regulatory czar")
Current challenges, opportunities, new ways of thinking, and speculative futures.
"The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress" by Virginia Postrel
“Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better” by Jennifer Pahlka, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under Obama and helped found the United States Digital Service
"Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals" by Tyler Cowen (A positive vision and framework)
"Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future" by Reed Hoffman (on optimistic AI futures)
"The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth" by Robin Hanson (optimist future scenarios)
"Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage" by Robert D. Atkinson & Stephen J. Ezell (On policy for global competitiveness)
"Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Myth of Small Business" by Robert D. Atkinson and Michael Lind (Relevant to current market concentrations and tech policy)
“Breaking Smart: How Software is Eating the World” by Venkatesh Rao (on the evolution of software and relevant trade-offs)
I get a small cut from Amazon if you buy a book with these links. Every purchase helps me advance the conversation beyond zero-sum thinking. :)
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s and do not represent those of the US government.