This philosophy has been heavily jolted by two inconvenient facts: the financial collapse of 2007-2008 and the experience of countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and even the US, where economic success depended heavily on sustained government investment of the kind that has produced Olympic medals. As in sports, so in economic life: government commitment can start a virtuous circle of success, while government neglect can trigger a vicious circle of decline.
这一哲理受到两条令人不安的事实的严重挑战：2007—2008年的金融崩盘以及日本、韩国、中国台湾、德国甚至美国等地区的经验——经济成功很大程度上取决于政府投资，而这种政府投资与奥运奖牌投资别无二致。体育如此，经济亦然：政府承诺可以开启良性循环，而政府的忽视可能触发衰落的恶性循环。