I’ve known Clyde Prestowitz since the 1980s when he was one of the leading voices urging the United States to get serious about creating a competitive response to Japan. That was just a warm-up for the debate we are having today about China, whose surging strength and ambition have caught many China-watchers by surprise
In his book entitled, “The World Turned Upside Down: America, China and The Struggle for Global Supremacy,” Prestowitz’s conclusions very much mirror my own. He writes:
“In order to meet the challenge posed by China, the United States must dedicate itself to maintaining the world’s most competitive economy. Like Germany and China with their Industry 4.0 and Made in China 2025 programs, America should launch a comprehensive American Rejuvenation Program dedicated to world leadership in all key technological, infrastructure and high-value-added fields.
“The program must be introduced as fundamental to long-term national security as a response to the greatest challenge to the United States have faced short of the Civil War. It must be designed and organized to be comprehensive and strongly coordinated within the U.S. government and between government, business, academic, labor and state and local government organizations.”
Prestowitz notes that there are precedents for such an effort. The National Defense Education Act became law in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union’s space ambitions, as evidenced by the Sputnik launch. My research has revealed another: the War Production Board in World War II was headed by Donald Nelson, a senior vice president at Sears Roebuck, then a major corporation. It harnessed civilian production capabilities to support the war effort. The private sector rallied behind a clear government priority.
I don’t want to ruin anyone’s appetite for the book, but here are just two of the other specific recommendations Prestowitz makes:
–Merge the National Economic Council and the National Security Council. Industrial, financial, technological and economic matters have emerged as crucial elements of national security.
–Merge the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Transportation along with NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) into a new Department of Competitiveness.
It’s time for Americans to recognize that we need to reorganize our institutions enough to respond to the challenge that President Xi Jinping’s government is posing to us–and to the world.
