Low regulation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for innovation. You also need the predicate technologies, precision manufacturing capabilities, etc. But within the US, where we have those things, loosely regulated industries (like the Internet) have consistently evolved faster than heavily regulated ones.
Low regulation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for innovation.
Restating it isn't convincing. Innovation didn't stop when slavery was banned, innovation didn't stop when Romans mandated that bread sellers sold a fair amount of bread, or when weights and measures were standardised in commercial transactions, or when mains electrical devices had to be earthed/grounded/double-insulated.
"You can't pollute groundwater with careless discharge of nuclear waste" - innovate within that constraint.
It's not just about regulation . The eco-liberals of the 80s and 90s actively influenced the political landscape to stop nuclear power, which also caused companies to halt investments.
We shouldn't be rewriting history now that we see that nuclear power could have actually prevented global climate change.
