In the Arena

In the Arena

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July 2025

The False Case for Cooperation With China
Engagement always comes at a price. The CCP is realist to the core, caring only about China. When it sees the U.S. government requesting cooperation, it…
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Robert D. Atkinson
1
Three Cheers for Industrial Policy
Fellow advocates of industrial policy, join me in being outspoken. You have nothing to lose but your intellectual chains and U.S. techno-economic…
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Robert D. Atkinson
2
Mission-Oriented Innovation or Mission-Enabled Innovation?
What’s more likely to boost growth and tech leadership: a targeted innovation strategy for robotics or one focused on cleaner oceans? Just asking.
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Robert D. Atkinson
2
What’s Going on With All the Manufacturing Decline Deniers?
There are two core reasons for manufacturing decline denialism: fear of protectionism and blind faith in market forces.
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Robert D. Atkinson
Yes, We Do Want to Be Like China
The reality is that if the United States doesn’t become more like China, it will lose the battle for advanced technology leadership.
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Robert D. Atkinson
2
US Antitrust as an Anti-Competitiveness Weapon
Only in the United States is gutting a world-leading firm seen as a policy win. No other government would be insane enough to attack its own national…
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Robert D. Atkinson
3

June 2025

If They Told You Wolverines Would Make Good House Pets, Prime Minister, Would You Believe Them?
If you think the PRC will allow the UK to expand exports of anything with any real strategic importance, you’re mistaken.
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Robert D. Atkinson
1
Rostow’s The Stages of Growth Needs a Sixth Stage
Rostow’s model suggests that stage five is the ultimate destination. A better model sees no fixed stages and certainly no permanent peak, only a…
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Robert D. Atkinson
1
US Science Policy at a Crossroads
The U.S. science and engineering enterprise’s rigid defense of the Vannevar Bush model and its full-throated embrace of ideological DEI has left it…
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Robert D. Atkinson
2
Fixing America’s Quality Crisis Starts With Reforming the Baldrige Award
Tariffs and tax breaks won’t fix America’s quality crisis. But perhaps an overhaul of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will.
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Robert D. Atkinson
2
© 2025 Robert D. Atkinson
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