I first came across the theories of the Italian economist Mariana Mazzucato a few years ago during a debate with an anti-capitalist who argued that it was not Steve Jobs, but rather the government, that was responsible for inventing the iPhone, and that the same applied to all great inventions. Since I know the story of the iPhone’s creation pretty well, I immediately realized that this anti-capitalist had completely failed to understand the role of the entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs are not necessarily inventors, nor are they typically scientific researchers. They are more like artists, using their creativity to take what already exists and turn it into something completely new, namely innovative products that provide value to customers. It would be absurd to accuse Picasso of merely recombining existing colors or to rebut Karl Marx by claiming that he did little more than remix the…
