Publications: Robert D. Atkinson

Detractors of capitalism argue that it took over fifty years for the British Industrial Revolution’s benefits to reach average workers. That narrative is at best contested and, at worst, wrong.

If we’re lucky, AI will restore the productivity growth that has eluded us for 15 years—not through dystopian transformation, but through steady, incremental improvements across the economy.

Europe, your vision of a green, integrated, and non-disruptive world is lovely. But it’s time to wake up and build the industrial and military capabilities that today’s world demands.

Economists’ reliance on R&D and patent metrics distorts our understanding of productivity growth. Time to correct the conclusion: Here’s why these proxies fail to capture the forces that do drive it.

“Non-tariff attacks” on U.S. tech companies are not just tax and regulatory hurdles—they are also eroding America’s strategic edge. Washington must identify, deter, and counter these measures in order to prevent ceding U.S. technology leadership to other nations.

A pro-worker agenda isn’t the same as a “national greatness” agenda. Workers are an interest group like any other: sometimes aligned with what’s best for the American Republic, and sometimes not.

China is on the march to dominate advanced industries that underpin national power in the 21st century. To protect U.S. economic strength and national security, policymakers must jettison old techno-economic and trade policy doctrines and adopt a new national power industry strategy.

Unions are interest groups, and America’s challenges require every group to put the national interest ahead of narrow self-interest. Yes, including blue-collar workers.

Korea cannot match the United States on foundational model innovation or China on manufacturing scale. But it holds a unique combination of strengths that neither possesses together: semiconductor fabrication, precision manufacturing, and world-class industrial robotics deployment.

We see plenty of “useful idiots” today. They no longer carry the Bolsheviks’ water, but rather parrot the CCP line as they disparage the West and praise China.