In American politics, discourse on China is ideological and one-dimensional, lacking in actual grounding in how this vast civilization-state actually works. I am optimistic that Breakneck will help move the national debate to a more nuanced understanding of China, and one that can inform the development of better industrial policy in the United States. The cultural diagnoses in Breakneck offer fertile ground to inspire a new generation of leaders and nation-builders. But perhaps Wang’s most important reminder is this: America’s strength lies not in perfection but in the promise of possibility…

Donald Trump’s election in 2016 coincided with a growing realization that the old economic playbook, which often relied on lip service to markets, was inadequate and culminated in unintended social and economic harms. Trump championed a view long held on the fringes of policy debates: that America’s massive trade deficits and deindustrialization were not just economic issues, but strategic liabilities. He pointed to the loss of factories and dependence on imports as evidence of American decline, rejecting the idea that such trends were benign side effects of globalization…

The nature of our capitalist system is such that the budgetary dimensions of deterrence matter. Buying certain kinds of weapons can be cost prohibitive. A defense industrial revival must be made to be a good investment, not just good security policy. Just as it was a bipartisan policy choice to deindustrialize and erode our defenses, it is no less of a conscious decision by policymakers today to buy different kinds of weapons in a different fashion…

The negative consequences of the H-1B can be traced back to its conception and design; the story of who crafted the visa, which firms and lobbies pressed hardest for its passage into law, and how it became Big Tech’s preferred option has largely gone untold. And while it is, of course, a natural feature of American life for businesses to lobby the government for policies that would benefit their bottom lines, what stands out about the emergence of H-1B is the sheer ease and lack of skepticism its advocates encountered as they made their case before lawmakers…

Understanding the rationale behind Eccles’s ambitions also holds lessons for the current moment, revealing just how powerful and malleable bank supervision can be, why the industry’s current effort to remake supervision could backfire, and why those taking up arms to defend supervision may come to regret that decision. Conti-Brown and Vanatta show that supervision is a powerful tool. It can and often has been used to meaningfully enhance the health of banks and the banking system. Yet they further show that it can and has been used to serve other agendas as well, potentially making it very attractive to an administration looking to deploy such tools in new and sometimes self-serving ways…

Both Democrats and Republicans want America to build things again: semiconductors, nuclear power, and more. But beneath high-tech industries lie thousands of underappreciated businesses—machine shops, chemical manufacturers, and others—that form the backbone of any industrial economy. Overhauling the SBIC program to fund these unsung industrial companies will help ensure that American manufacturing survives and that American small businesses continue to grow…

Today, America’s antitrust future looks brighter than it has in generations. After long decades of underenforcement, both major political parties have found the will to take up these longstanding laws. But conservatives, as leaders and voters committed to values beyond simple partisan advantage, cannot rest content with making antitrust policy into a political weapon, useful for rewarding friends and punishing enemies…