Human creativity has been one of the fundamental drivers of civilization. Often our creativity has baffled skeptics by allowing us to find new and better resources, unexpected environmental technologies and genuinely amazing products that no one had predicted. However, like so many before it, Western civilization is now suffering from serious internal decay with its bloated public sectors, punitive taxes, over-regulation, marginalized citizens, stagnation, debt, unemployment and pessimism. In this episode, we speak with Lars Tvede about how to regain our creative edge in the West, and why we lost it in the first place. Lars is the author of the new book, The Creative Society: How the Future Can Be Won. He is a serial entrepreneur and author of numerous books on subjects ranging from economics, financial markets and the future. He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in International Commerce. ______ “I looked at the maps of where creativity was occurring throughout history and I found that it almost only happened when you had small city-states. As soon as a nation become centralized, the creativity dropped.” - Lars Tvede Quotes from Lars: What we learn in this episode: • What does Lars believe is the best part about being an entrepreneur? • Why has the “West” created approximately 97% of all of the world’s innovation? • How can countries foster more creativity? Resources: The Creative Society: How the Future Can Be Won http://www.larstvede.com/ -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for FREE with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers!! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices