Parents don’t tolerate “But they do it, too” as an excuse from their children. What about when adults in positions of power use it? That was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ‘s message last week when he told CNBC, “When you are facing a nonmarket economy like China, you have to exercise industrial policy.” He then announced price controls on a broad but still-unspecified range of American goods.

Bessent argues that if you want to defeat your opponent, you must become more like them. This is a poor basis for public policy. It is also the opposite of how America defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War, which was by outcompeting Russia. The United States could win again, this time against China.

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