In a rare weekend email, Packy reveals he has been talking to Conrad Bastable, author of the essay, “Forsaking Industrialism: The Most Expensive Thing You Didn’t Buy”.
Bastable’s essay explores the issues around why the West is lagging behind China in industrial might, and the difficult challenges America faces in trying to reindustrialise.
The issues are complex and there are no easy answers, but Packy discusses two key issues with Bastable: the relationship between labour and capital, and principles and prosperity.
America needs to thread the needle between capital and labour to succeed, and must also work to preserve both its ideals/principles and prosperity.
This is a lengthy and in-depth discussion, but one that is extremely pertinent to the current issues faced by the world’s superpowers.