Republicans embraced some unlikely things in the Trump years — from bonkers conspiracy theories to the music from Cats, which alternated with the Village People’s “Macho Man” at Donald Trump’s campaign events — but the most consequential of these strange new passions is: central planning. Republicans thus ensorcelled should be somewhat relieved by the election of Joe Biden, whose ambitions regarding economic nationalism are identical to those of Trump in almost every aspect save the rhetorical.
Trump was fascinated by China as an economic bogeyman, and so is Biden. Trump aspired to a situation of defense autarky, under which normal market …
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