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By David Brooks
Opinion Columnist
The main political argument in the 20th century was over the size of government. On the left, people tried to use government to reduce inequality and offer an economic safety net. On the right, people tried to reduce taxes and regulations to boost growth and social dynamism.
That era is clearly over. Donald Trump is a big-government populist who has destroyed small government conservatism. He’s using state power to adopt a mercantilist tariff policy that redirects global trade flows. He’s using industrial policy to pick economic winners and losers. He’s using state power to micromanage key universities. The Trump Defense Department just spent $400 million to become that largest shareholder of a private rare-earth elements company. Trump got himself a “golden share” of U.S. Steel, giving the president sweeping powers over a private company’s business decisions.
