Look at where we are today—most people worldwide enjoy living standards that would've seemed impossible a century ago. Smartphones, affordable healthcare, global food supply, accessible education. How did that happen? Simple: market economies with real incentives.

When people benefit directly from their work and innovation, they hustle. Entrepreneurs take risks, workers develop skills, companies compete to offer better products cheaper. That's the engine.

But here's where it gets interesting: now we're seeing institutions and governments expanding their role, funding things traditionally left to markets. The tension is real. Do centralized systems deliver the same spark? History suggests the incentive structure matters way more than who's writing the check.