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When European settlers first came to North America, they saw flocks of geese so big that it took them 30 minutes to all take flight and forests that seemed to stretch to infinity. They came to two conclusions: that Gods plans for humanity could be completed here, and that they could get really rich in the process.
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David Brooks
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This moral materialism fomented a certain sort of manic energy. Americans became famous for their energy and workaholism: for moving around, switching jobs, marrying and divorcing, creating new products and going off on righteous crusades.
It may seem like an ephemeral thing, but this eschatological faith in the future has motivated generations of Americans, just as religious faith motivates a missionary. Pioneers and immigrants endured hardship in the present because of their confidence in future plenty. Entrepreneurs start up companies with an exaggerated sense of their chances of success. The faith is the molten core of the countrys dynamism.
There are also periodic crises of faith. Today, the rise of China is producing such a crisis. It is not only Chinas economic growth rate that produces this anxiety. The deeper issue is spiritual. The Chinese, though members of a famously old civilizatio