National security is no longer conceived solely as a military affair. The confluence of strategic & economic concerns looms large, reviving the Cold War practice of economic statecraft. Recalling the Sputnik moment, the task is grand & the stakes are high. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/05/revivi…

Faced with American hostility, Chinese leaders see manufacturing as their only way out. In this context, batteries & EVs are just weapons in a war that is not so much between China & America as it is between competing visions of what China is or could be. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/05/waitin…

Palantir CTO on rebuilding the US industrial base: “Industrial decline is a solvable problem—and a choice. We can make better choices, create better incentives, and use the strengths we still have to our advantage.” americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/06/reboot…

Fall 24 issue now online: -Is China winning? -The IDF's cult of technology -Rebooting US industry -Electricity in South Africa (& the US) -Education reform -Liberalism and equality -Political thought in Silicon Valley -America as filibuster society & more americanaffairsjournal.org/issue/fall-202…

We are living in the aftermath of a Chinese trade war victory—China's economy itself a dark reflection of our own financial system. We must choose between maintaining this corrosive order or making painful yet necessary policy adjustments. Nathan Simington americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/china-…

CCP elites appear to believe that, across a range of metrics, China is gaining ground in its bid to replace the US as global hegemon. Americans might, therefore, at least consider the possibility that the PRC is outcompeting the United States. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/compet…

What led to the IDF’s “cult of technology”—a tendency to view the implementation of technological tools as an end in itself, at the expense of larger strategic purposes—and the flaws of this mentality that were so catastrophically exposed on October 7? americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/the-id…

Israel's Advanced Manufacturing Institute has vastly exceeded expectations. Manufacturers working with AMI experienced a 22% increase in labor productivity—twice the baseline rate—and averaged 16% growth in revenue—more than 5x the typical rate. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/lesson…

Addressing America’s industrial policy needs will require rethinking how we pursue policy goals. The use of tax credits has made the administration of industrial policy smoother, but it has also made it difficult to know what the policy is accomplishing. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/implem…

The world is about to need more energy. A lot more. In the US, new data centers and manufacturing activity mean the era of flat energy demand is over. America can meet this challenge, but the next administration must prioritize energy deployment. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/an-inn…

Once united behind principles related to outputs of a well-managed grid—such as access, reliability & affordability—America’s political parties have lately arrayed behind supposedly rival technologies that are inputs to the grid & their patronage networks. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/electr…

Because progressives control so much of the public education infrastructure, conservatives—and their centrist allies—must look beyond passing a handful of libertarian-influenced policies and focus on rebuilding the institutions of public education. americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/a-choi…