Mainstream economists have been quick to point out that it will be difficult, if not impossible, for Donald Trump to realize an economic agenda whose constituent elements often contradict each other. But, while true, this misses the point: the economics of "America First" was never supposed to be based on analytical rigor.
CAMBRIDGE – While the end of World War II 80 years ago ushered in an age of reason, Donald Trump’s return to the White House has ushered it out. His MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement promises to take a wrecking ball to the postwar global economic order, raising the question of what will replace it. “America First” seems to appeal to a wide spectrum of constituents, from blue-collar workers in the heartland to Big Tech “broligarchs.” But what does it mean in practice? Is there any method to Trump’s madness, or does he believe, like Mao Zedong, that “Everything under heaven is in chaos; the situation is excellent”?
CAMBRIDGE – While the end of World War II 80 years ago ushered in an age of reason, Donald Trump’s return to the White House has ushered it out. His MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement promises to take a wrecking ball to the postwar global economic order, raising the question of what will replace it. “America First” seems to appeal to a wide spectrum of constituents, from blue-collar workers in the heartland to Big Tech “broligarchs.” But what does it mean in practice? Is there any method to Trump’s madness, or does he believe, like Mao Zedong, that “Everything under heaven is in chaos; the situation is excellent”?