Monopoly Round-Up: Does the Left Have Trouble with Making Things in America?

Today’s round-up has lots of monopoly news, as usual. California is selling its own insulin to undercut big pharma, Senator Josh Hawley is circulating a bill to prohibit AI from exploiting children, and airlines are starting to charge junk fees for passengers who want to recline in their seats. Not kidding. All of that after the paywall.

I want to focus the main round-up essay on why the Democrats have trouble embracing the idea of making things in America. It’s going to sound critical, but it’s meant to offer some analysis of a faction that is having trouble finding a coherent critique.

I am observing this dynamic because this weekend, a set of marches took place, the “No Kings” rallies, where participants expressed opposition to deportations, occupation of cities by troops, and offered praise for multiculturalism, et al. It was almost entirely reactive to Trump, with no commentary or interest in anything relating to political economy. As CNN reported, “One protester wearing a unicorn costume and dancing along to the music said he chose the costume because he ‘felt like the unicorn exemplified the diversity and culture of LA.’”

I see this kind of cultural politics as perhaps the main theme of liberal thinking.

Last week, for instance, I got into a back-and-forth on Twitter with a popular fashion influencer named Derek Guy about whether it’s possible or desirable to make clothing in America. In between pithy observations about menswear, he tends to bash tariffs and the attempt to re-shore production to the U.S. “I don’t think reshoring garment manufacturing is a way forward to building an American middle-class,” he said. “The costs—xenophobia, nationalism, protectionism—are too high.”

I tweet a lot, and normally when I get into a dispute with someone, it doesn’t matter. But when arguing with Guy, I got feedback from people in random parts of my life, because he is a sort of internet celebrity. He’s not a policy person, but a talented hobbyist who found a popular niche obsessively talking about luxury clothing. More importantly, Guy operates via the algorithm, he knows what his audience of liberals seek, so his politics reflects something deeper in the liberal/leftist psyche.

To that end, it’s worth teasing out his views, which are rooted in a certain political economy vision, and one that is pretty widespread. Guy believes that the U.S. should allow most production to go offshore. ...