The China Challenge Is Not the Japan Challenge—It’s Worse

Japan was a competitor inside the U.S. alliance system. China is a rival trying to replace it. Waiting for China to repeat Japan’s slowdown is not a…

Oct 1 • Robert D. Atkinson

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September 2026

We Held the Ladder for the PRC, Only to be Thrown Off the Roof

The West held the ladder for the PRC, which is now trying to kick its competitors off the summit. America must counter unfair trade and build its own…

Sep 25 • Robert D. Atkinson

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AI Triumphalists Complain About the Fear They Induce

If AI’s supposed “champions” don’t want people to be afraid, they should stop selling fear.

Sep 18 • Robert D. Atkinson

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Washington Is Still in Denial About China’s Techno-Economic Challenge

Washington is now more focused on China but remains in denial about the threat. Fourteen rationalizations explain why its techno-economic response…

Sep 10 • Robert D. Atkinson

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America Needs Its Own “Three Decides”

America must answer three fundamental questions in favor of national power, innovation, growth, and national greatness or risk losing ground to the PRC.

Sep 3 • Robert D. Atkinson

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August 2026

Why the Left Stopped Caring About Production and What That Costs America

The Democratic Party increasingly assumes the economy runs on autopilot, weakening its ability to articulate a serious vision for American economic…

Aug 27 • Robert D. Atkinson

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Labor-Displacing Technology Is Good for Labor

Labor-displacing technology can cause temporary pain, but that reflects progress. Suppressing it won’t protect workers; it’ll sacrifice productivity and…

Aug 14 • Robert D. Atkinson

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July 2026

Time for an 18-Month Moratorium on Data Center Moratoriums

Montgomery County’s new data center moratorium will do little for the environment, but plenty to weaken growth, deter investment, and undermine the…

Jul 31 • Robert D. Atkinson

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The Unabomber Is Dead. Unabomberism Is Not.

The evolving anti-technology movement in the United States is not harmless nostalgia. It threatens growth, security, competitiveness, and human…

Jul 23 • Robert D. Atkinson

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Taking a Timeout This Early? Wake Me When Washington Gets Serious About China

Whether Washington sustains a policy response equal to the challenge China poses or takes a timeout while Xi runs up the score remains an open question.

Jul 10 • Robert D. Atkinson

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What’s the Matter With the Techno-Economy’s Professorial Class?

Too many academics now trade objectivity for narrative, ignoring inconvenient facts that get in the way of the story they want to tell.

Jul 2 • Robert D. Atkinson

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June 2026

The Pope’s AI Encyclical Marks the Triumph of Social Capitalism Over Neoliberalism: Part II

Echoing social capitalism, the encyclical gets technology and employment wrong, succumbing to the lump-of-labor fallacy and short-term protection over…

Jun 18 • Robert D. Atkinson

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