---
title: "Growth vs. Redistribution: The New Fault Line in U.S. Politics of Economic Policy"
summary: |-
  The real choice in a growth agenda is between a purely free market and a developmental state—a state that helps enterprises, industries and the economy thrive with policies such as investing in research, infrastructure, skills and other key building blocks.
date: "2020-12-12"
issues: ["Economic Theory"]
authors: ["Robert D. Atkinson"]
content_type: "Op-Eds & Contributed Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2020/12/12/growth-vs-redistribution-new-fault-line-us-politics-economic-policy/"
---

# Growth vs. Redistribution: The New Fault Line in U.S. Politics of Economic Policy

The relevant dividing line in U.S. economic policy is no longer between markets and government; it is between growth and redistribution. Writing in American Compass, Rob D. Atkinson argues that the real choice in a growth agenda is between a purely free market and a [developmental state](https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2019/05/national-developmentalism-from-forgotten-tradition-to-new-consensus/)—a state that helps enterprises, industries and the economy thrive with policies such as investing in research, infrastructure, skills and other key building blocks.

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2020/12/12/growth-vs-redistribution-new-fault-line-us-politics-economic-policy/*