I want government to set the rules, allow for courts, property rights, police, defense, infrastructure that's poorly provided by the private sector like sewage. That was government's role until maybe 70 or 80 years ago. Infrastructure is not an area where the private sector has been willing to invest in. The right difference that basically how we talk about this in economics is that this is about fixing market failures. And those problems definitely exist. There's big market failures. But it doesn't help explain innovation. So revolutionary changes around the internet, around aviation, around renewable energy, around nanotech biotech, which actually required government to play a much larger role.
Economist and author Mariana Mazzucato talks about her book The Value of Everything with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Mazzucato argues that economists have mismeasured value and have failed to appreciate the role of government as innovator. She argues for a more active role for government in the innovation process and for government to share in revenue proportional to its role in the creation of new technology.