--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America is the most inventive country in…" description: "\"America is the most inventive country in the world. Why? Because everybody has access to information. In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a phot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/tom-clancy-1751_access_america-is-the-most-inventive-country-in_1047810.jpg" --- # America is the most inventive country in the world. Why?… ![“America is the most inventive country in the world. Why? Because everybody has access to information. In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them.” quote by Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/tom-clancy-1751_access_america-is-the-most-inventive-country-in_1047810.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/tom-clancy-1751_access_america-is-the-most-inventive-country-in_1047810.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/tom-clancy-1751_access_america-is-the-most-inventive-country-in_1047810.jpg) > “America is the most inventive country in the world. Why? Because everybody has access to information. In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them.” [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that open access to information fuels creativity, contrasting with restrictive regimes that stifle progress. **In simple terms:** Freedom of information drives invention. Key Takeaway Support open information policies. Themes innovation information freedom political systems Mood analytical optimistic Type political technological When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - technology development Key Concepts knowledge economy censorship Questions to Reflect On - How does information access shape national innovation? - What safeguards balance openness and security? A Different Perspective Open access can also lead to misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) [Access to information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access-to-information/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Inventive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-inventive-2488444/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-soviet-2488445/) [Inventive Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventive-country-2488443/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-everybody/) ## Related quotes > [America is the most inventive country in the world because everybody has access to information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/america-is-the-most-inventive-country-in-the-world-because-everybody/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [When the States already had nuclear weapons, and the Soviet Union was only building them, we got a significant amount of information through Soviet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/when-the-states-already-had-nuclear-weapons-and-the-soviet-union-was/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [There used to be this country called the Soviet Union; it's not there anymore. Our technology was better than theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/there-used-to-be-this-country-called-the-soviet-union-it-s-not-there/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“In the Soviet Union every worker is a government worker, and they have a saying: As long as the bosses pretend to pay us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/in-the-soviet-union-every-worker-is-a-government-worker-and-they-have/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge - we'll make it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/with-enough-of-us-around-the-world-we-ll-not-just-send-a-strong/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [Complete and accurate surveillance as a means of control is probably a practical impossibility. What is much more likely is a loss of privacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-c-ferkiss/complete-and-accurate-surveillance-as-a-means-of-control-is-probably/) [Victor C. Ferkiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-c-ferkiss/) > [We must remember that democracy works when given time to develop, mature and deliver. People must have access to information for informed debate. Government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/we-must-remember-that-democracy-works-when-given-time-to-develop/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [But libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication. They are about education (which is not a process that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/but-libraries-are-about-freedom-freedom-to-read-freedom-of-ideas/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I dream of a Digital India where access to Information knows no barriers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-dream-of-a-digital-india-where-access-to-information-knows-no/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Librarians consider free access to information the foundation of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/librarians-consider-free-access-to-information-the-foundation-of/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pravin-lal/beware-of-he-who-would-deny-you-access-to-information-for-in-his/) [Pravin Lal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pravin-lal/) > [I want people in all the government agencies to be communicating with people because for me, we're in an era - which didn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-want-people-in-all-the-government-agencies-to-be-communicating-with/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There is a difference between having access to information and having the savvy it takes to interpret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/there-is-a-difference-between-having-access-to-information-and-having/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [Technology, and applications of this technology, will continue to improve and evolve, providing unprecedented, global access to information, individuals, training, and opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-webb/technology-and-applications-of-this-technology-will-continue-to/) [Maynard Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-webb/) > [Schools have never been about getting access to information. That's the job of libraries. Schools and universities have nobler missions as gentle gatekeepers. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/schools-have-never-been-about-getting-access-to-information-that-s/) [Andrew Nikiforuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-nikiforuk/) ## More by Tom Clancy > [“The most important lesson that came out of Vietnam for me was that Marines take care of Marines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-most-important-lesson-that-came-out-of-vietnam-for-me-was-that/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [I understand why we do that now. It’s a help, not a threat. It’s something to remind you how important words are. Ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/i-understand-why-we-do-that-now-it-s-a-help-not-a-threat-it-s/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/people-i-am-actually-fairly-smart-why-has-this-not-occurred-to-anyone/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Sunday was the normal day for the political awareness session at sea. Ordinarily Putin would have officiated, reading some Pravada editorials, followed by selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/sunday-was-the-normal-day-for-the-political-awareness-session-at-sea/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/fix-your-eyes-forward-on-what-you-can-do-not-back-on-what-you-cannot/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Speak your dialogue out loud. 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Duties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/nothing-is-as-real-as-a-dream-the-world-can-change-around-you-but/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [An overnight success is ten years in the making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/an-overnight-success-is-ten-years-in-the-making/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/bill-clinton-is-a-man-who-thinks-international-affairs-means-dating-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [The objective of a terrorist is to create political change in the society he targets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-objective-of-a-terrorist-is-to-create-political-change-in-the/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The Good of the People was a laudable enough goal, but in denying a man's soul, an enduring part of his being, Marxism stripped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-good-of-the-people-was-a-laudable-enough-goal-but-in-denying-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [(Stereotyping) is only for those without the imagination to see people as they are instead of being like someone else they understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/stereotyping-is-only-for-those-without-the-imagination-to-see-people/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The dead were gone and didn't know or care what they left behind.. 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I used to watch a lot of Fela…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-krule/because-the-internet-s-there-i-have-access-to-a-lot-of-the-legends/) [King Krule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-krule/) > [There needs to be some regime that is overseeing access to broadband to make sure we have openess; otherwise, there is a risk it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vint-cerf/there-needs-to-be-some-regime-that-is-overseeing-access-to-broadband/) [Vint Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vint-cerf/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [It is truly vital for the United States to assure that it is not attacked with weapons of mass destruction; to prevent wars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/it-is-truly-vital-for-the-united-states-to-assure-that-it-is-not/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. 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