CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Industrial Policy is Like Dieting, We Always Do It

Image Source: Jernej Furman from Slovenia – CC BY 2.0

Most discussion of industrial policy is a bit otherworldly. It is treated like something we can either do or not do, as though there is an on-off switch. This view should seem absurd to anyone who gives it a moment’s thought.

We always do industrial policy, in the sense of pursuing policies that favor certain industries to the detriment of others. In this sense, it is very much like dieting. Our diet is what we eat. We can think about it deliberately and try to consume a diet that limits our intake of calories or fat or accomplishes some other end, but we are not avoiding a diet by not thinking about it. We are likely just eating less healthy food.

It’s the same story with industrial policy. When we invested in the national highway system, we were adopting a policy that promoted cars and suburbs to the detriment of cities and mass transit. Similarly, building airports supported the airline industry, aircraft manufacturers, and tourism. This was at least partly at the expense of train travel and inter-city buses.

In the last few weeks, many people have endorsed the idea of having an AI sovereign wealth fund because they want to do industrial policy. This is........

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