that Capitalism has no mechanism to insure investment for the long range future, and this will lead to stagnation. The rate of economic growth has been falling since at least the 1950's (and maybe since the last century). As the average age increases, people have ever less interest in long term investments. Before Social Security and welfare there was an incentive to save for retirement and for the "rainy day". But now people have less need to. US tax laws reward consumption but penalize saving. The saving rate is falling. And of course, it is money saved and invested (rather than consumed) which provides the capital for future progress. In the last century, private investment built the railroads and canals. But more recently, the government has provided the capital for major projects like the interstate highways, the internet and space exploration.

John Kenneth Galbraith's 1962 book American Capitalism claimed that the US corporation was the ideal institution to promote technological development. Individual people may have a "short term" outlook, but a corporation can live forever, and can take a long view. Back in the 1960's big companies like Du Pont hired PhD chemists, even though it had no specific job for them to do. They were just put in a lab (like in Wilmington Delaware) and told to look for things that might pay off in the future. (I know. I was one of them). Bell Labs (the telephone company!) found the leftover heat from the original "Big Bang", and developed the transistor.

But since anti-trust breakup of the giant companies, and more intense foreign competition, they can't afford that sort of "luxury" any more. Some say that government sponsored research has displaced corporate R&D. As the government withdraws, companies will get more involved.