Noted French intellectual and free marketeer Guy Sorman is confident that the economy is headed in the right direction. He feels this way in spite of his belief that the stimulus measures and government bailouts are “political statements, which are rather neutral vis-à-vis the economy.” He says measures like saving GM don’t make “a big difference,” and that governments should respond to crises by doing nothing. But he recognizes that politics doesn’t allow inaction, so he’s not as critical of recent government action as some of his peers on the Chicago school side of the fence. And in speaking at the Carnegie Council , Sorman explained that his optimism is based on his belief that innovation will lead to recovery: My major reason for optimism right now in the United States and also in Europe is by visiting emerging companies inventing new products. I'm quite sure that we will get out of the crisis not because of stimulus, not because of regulation, but because of new techniques in biotechnology, in nanotechnology, in communication technology. Like it in the past, it is innovation which will be the real engine of the economy and the real reason why we will get out of this crisis. Here is an excerpt of Sorman’s address: Sorman's latest latest book is Economics Does Not Lie: A Defense of the Free Market in a Time of Crisis . He spoke to more issues in the book in the speech , which you can watch by clicking here .