As former Texas Longhorn coach Darrell Royal liked to say, when
faced with a challenging bowl game, you need to "dance with the
one who brung you" to the party. Mr. Royal meant that even when
faced with daunting new challenges, one would be well advised
not to abandon a winning formula that had already brought
success. That is good advice as the United States and other
economies face the daunting task of restoring economic growth.
The "party" in this case is the six decades of increasing
prosperity that the world has enjoyed since the end of World War
II. U.S. Gross Domestic Product was about $1.6 trillion in 1947
(valued in 2000 dollars), a little over $11,000 for every man,
woman and child. In 2007, it was $11.5 trillion, or about
$38,000 per capita. That's almost a doubling of average incomes
each generation, made possible by the free market's efficiency
in allocating capital and labor.  Capitalism, the U.S. dance
partner during this period of unprecedented economic growth, is,
by the accounts of politica