An Industrial Policy That Puts Workers First
Even the Financial Times, the mouthpiece of international business, is suggesting the US needs an industrial policy. But we need one that empowers workers, not American corporations.
Workers on an assemby line in a US factory, circa 1930.Archive Photos / Getty
Industrial policy is en vogue again. The Financial Times editorial board recently announced its tentative support for industrial policy in the United States, writing that “the need to transition to a worker-led economy is increasingly clear.”
The FT isn’t calling for socialism. Instead, the studiously bland piece highlights recent suggestions (from both Democrats and Republicans) for a reboot of industrial policy and hints that Elizabeth Warren’s “Plan for Economic Patriotism” might not be a terrible idea.
Warren’s proposal is the latest addition to her growing platform of ambitious ideas to overturn the neoliberal status quo. In her industrial policy endeavor, Warren takes on “unpatriotic” US corporations like Levis and General Electric that have offshored production to cheaper locales, “abandoning loyal American workers and hollowing out American cities along the way.” Warren argues:
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