> What is this claim based on?
Blog posts I've read from I've read, largely in HN. Personal interviews in those countries.
> Is there 10x as much stress among French business owners? Are entrepreneurs working 10x as hard in China? Are there 10x fewer businesses in England?
No clue. I've run many businesses and it's all stressful.
> And, stepping back a bit: To the extent that running a business is easier in America, how much of that is because the US exploits and bullies the rest of the world?
The US definitely exploits and bullies the rest of the world. Very often it's shameful and I hate it. All countries exploit other countries in their best interest. You may also be forgetting that for centuries the US has policed the world's waterways mostly in its own interest but, from about 1945-2020, for the rest of the world too, all at its own expense. We've been the leaders in anti-pirate forces since Jefferson.
> How much is because it's a huge country with vast resources
A lot. We are the luckiest country on Earth by a country mile. But also because of somewhat free markets, rule of law, somewhat free press, property rights, and constitutional belief in the individual. Japan doesn't have a huge country with vast resources but still does well. Canada and many countries in Africa have vast resources they could exploit responsibly but don't.
> (that were stolen from its murdered inhabitants)?
All countries are stolen from murdered inhabitants. All of them. Look at the Comanche, the Huns, the Houthis, the Japanese in WWII, the Goths, the Chinese, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and Luxembourg.
OK I'm kidding about Luxembourg.
> How much is because the lack of regulations allows for rampant externalization of costs?
Super complex question and a good one. Impossible to deal with in a comment.
> How much is because businesses are more 'free' to exploit their own workers?
Zero. No one forces you to work here, unless you're one of the hundred of thousands of trafficked workers here. Those traffickers should be hunted down and shot.
> How much is because most of the mechanisms for basic accountability are broken?
Don't know. We have huge corrupt corporations and a huge corrupt government working hand in hand against the citizens, but we also have tons of regulations and a justice system that can still help the little guy sometimes. You are absolutely on the right track, but we might have different definitions for accountability.
However since we're comparing the USA to others Mexico and China are shot through with corruption, China more perhaps than any other country on earth. Though we give them a run for their money.
> These aren't "gotcha" questions. They're fundamentally important to our future, because none of that is sustainable.
I sort of think you played your hand. The term "none of that is sustainable" suggests to me you've already decided on answers to all these non-gotcha questions. But I tried to answer them in the best light.