In the Arena
Navigate forward to interact with the calendar and select a date. Press the question mark key to get the keyboard shortcuts for changing dates.
Navigate backward to interact with the calendar and select a date. Press the question mark key to get the keyboard shortcuts for changing dates.
In the Arena is a Substack publication (policyarena.org) about the policy ideas shaping our times, some for the better, many for the worse—and a precious few that haven’t yet taken hold, but should.
Authored by ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, In the Arena provides insights and commentary for those who are tired of groupthink and posturing in Washington, DC, and hungry for new analysis, ideas, and proposals that are grounded in data, logic, and critical thinking instead of rehashed ideological shibboleths from the right and left.
The ideological North Star for In the Arena is national developmentalism: an economic doctrine that jettisons neoliberalism and neo-New Dealism in favor of an active role for government in supporting and enabling business-led innovation, productivity, and competitiveness to spur U.S. economic growth and industrial development. This agenda is especially important if America is to avoid succumbing to China’s techno-economic aggression.
November 5, 2026
Technological Innovation Is Everything
The West must once again embrace technological progress and mount a robust intellectual attack on the forces of stasis. The alternative is decline.
October 29, 2026
Industrial Policy Considers Infant Industries: What About “Injured Industries”?
Viable industries injured by predatory PRC competition need renewal, not a merciful death. That will require sector-specific strategies and people who know how to build them.
October 22, 2026
The Semiconductor and Data Center Boom Does Not Make a Manufacturing Rebound
AI investment is booming, but manufacturing output is stagnant. America needs industrial policy to restore manufacturing and reduce dependence on China.
October 15, 2026
US No Longer Embraces Innovation: China Does
China embraces innovation. America gets in its own way. Conflicting rulebooks and resistance to technological adoption are helping China win and America lose.
October 8, 2026
Techno-Doom Panics Are Wired Into Our Brains
Our brains are wired to react to uncertainty with fear before reason catches up. However, giving in to techno-doom panics is bad for humanity.
October 1, 2026
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 strategy.
September 24, 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. If the United States wants any hope of regaining the top, it must start kicking away the PRC’s ladder by countering its unfair trade practices while building its own with a bold, robust national advanced industry strategy.
September 18, 2026
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.
September 10, 2026
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 remains limited.
September 3, 2026
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.
