Holy US-blinkers Batman! Patents existed for hundreds of years before the US even existed. Their framing in the US constitution does not describe the reasons for the creation of patents.
No, it isn't. The article was about abstract ideas in general and in this current thread, you were the first one to mention the constitution and it was to you and your point that I was replying.
The article appears in the New York Times, which is based in the US and targets a primarily American audience. Furthermore, the article itself begins: "The Constitution gives Congress the power to grant... But in recent years, the government has too often given patent protection to..."