Chairman Trump: has the US turned its back on free-market capitalism? (The Guardian) [View all]

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I know most of us here are not in love with (grossly unregulated) free-market capitalism, but perhaps this article should be shared with so-called conservatives. And especially the picture at the top. (if I knew how to make the image appear here I would. I tried the link to the image but it did not work.)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/30/chairman-trump-us-economy

Chairman Trump: has the US turned its back on free-market capitalism?
Callum Jones
in New York

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While Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China, had been fundamentally opposed to free markets and capitalism, Reagan argued that societies which enjoyed “the most spectacular progress” were the ones where people had been “permitted to think for themselves, make economic decisions, and benefit from their own risks”.

What would Reagan make of a country that, in a matter of weeks, became the largest shareholder in a microchip manufacturer; demanded a cut of firms’ overseas sales in exchange for export licenses; and fired a statistics official after government data embarrassed its ruling party?

In just the past week, senior government officials in the country have pushed to exert control over its central bank; ordered a tech giant to strike a deal with a supportive media conglomerate; and successfully urged a restaurant chain to reverse a rebrand.

This is not China. It is the United States, under a Republican president, in 2025.
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