Innovation as National Power

Originally published by RallyPoint; authored by Alex Gallo

There is hard power, soft power, and even smart power. But what is also needed to meet the challenge of China is innovation and entrepreneurship as a form of national power.

The strategic challenge of the Chinese Communist Party has been a wake-up call for politicians and the public alike. In fact, the newly formed Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in Congress has begun to wrestle with the challenge of strategic competition – to include, just last week, conducting a wargame with committee members to open their eyes to the acute issues we face as a nation and Western society. Such a wargame with the representatives of the people in Congress is both practical and needed because, to date, the exact nature of the challenge from China has been abstract within the public dialogue.

But what is missing from these wargames, and our national-level conversation in general, is a dialogue on national power. That is to say, how should we organize as a nation and what are the technologies and resources required to meet the challenge from China?