A tantalizing question arises in profound debates about the nature of the human mind: If Van Gogh or Mozart had been on Prozac, would they have been spared the agony of depression or would the world have been denied their great art?

The financial crisis and ensuing deep recession raise an analogous question. Do we face a choice: A dynamic, volatile economy with painful episodes like the recent one to get faster long-run growth in living standards versus a more stable economy with fewer crises but also slower growth over time?

...