Neoliberalism might have failed—but Trumpism is no alternative.
It is not hard to understand why such economic heresies resonate. Globalization has been a major factor in industrial decline , loss of livelihoods , and downward pressure on wages in the United States. But we should not mistake Trump's rejection of orthodoxies for any concern for ordinary Americans. He aspires to personal control, not economic justice. It has become accepted wisdom that U.S. President Donald Trump's populist message has been effective because it has criticized a failed economic ideology of neoliberalism. In both administrations, Trump has rejected some long-standing bipartisan orthodoxies about the relationship between the state and markets, such as the belief that economic integration and lowering of trade barriers are unquestionably in the national interest, or that the government should exercise restraint in addressing trade imbalances and managing currency exchange rates. It has become accepted wisdom that U.S. President Donald Trump's populist message has been effective because it has criticized a failed economic ideology of neoliberalism. In both administrations, Trump has rejected some long-standing bipartisan orthodoxies about the relationship between the state and markets, such as the belief that economic integration and lowering of trade barriers are unquestionably in the national interest, or that the government should exercise restraint in addressing trade imbalances and managing currency exchange rates. It is not hard to understand why such economic heresies resonate. Globalization has been a major factor in industrial decline, loss of livelihoods, and downward pressure on wages in the United States. But we should not mistake Trump's rejection of orthodoxies for any concern for ordinary Americans. He aspires to personal control, not economic justice. The impacts of globalization were not hard to foresee: The multilateral trade system built during and expanded in the wake of the Cold War was designed primarily to reduce barriers…
Trevor Sutton, Matthew Duss, Trevor Sutton, Matthew Duss