Is the US’s leadership under threat from within and without? That was the question posed by the Financial Times’ View from the Top conference in New York last week. Has the world’s pack leader lost its way and will it lose its position as top dog as a result?

The event featured former and current members of the Obama administration, top economists, chief executives, investors and foreign policy experts. One might think such a group would be pessimistic about America’s prospects – and the rise of China as an alternative leader – but the view that emerged was not as gloomy as I expected.

Many of the panellists saw the country’s history of innovation and entrepreneurship as a cause for optimism. Steve Case, chairman of Revolution and co-founder of AOL said: “America’s story was the story of entrepreneurship.” Laura Tyson, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Bill Clinton and now a professor at the Haas School of business, declared: “We haven’t lost the ability to innovate in America but we may have lost the ability to produce.”