The closest reply to a reasonable response I have heard regarding the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” has been the yearning for American manufacturing returning to the heights it reached post-World War II. We controlled 50% of the world’s gross domestic product and 90% of the world’s auto production.

What people seem to fail to realize is that such prominence only took place because we had a near world monopoly. Most of Europe, Japan, China and a good part of the Soviet Union were completely decimated by the war. It also needs to be mentioned that we are now in a world economy that was only just beginning post-WWII.

I don’t think such a situation where America is the only principle manufacturing center supplying the world will ever be seen again. Can we try to improve and make our manufacturing stronger? Of course we should. But, yearning for the manufacturing prowess of post-WWII is not the reality of today’s world.

An analogy would be the wish of America being the only nuclear power, as it once was after the war. And that is not possible.

Thank you.