Even with political gridlock, America Inc should still fear the bossy state

1922 , criticised by Communist militants for tolerating a minuscule role for the private sector in Bolshevik Russia, insisted that it was a reasonable trade-off because the state would still control “the commanding heights” of the economy. For much of the rest of the 20th century that phrase came to stand for state meddling—not a complete clampdown on private markets, but preference for a dominant economic role played by the mandarins of the public sector. In the 1980s that changed. For most of the period since then it was market forces, rather than the state, that have been in the ascendancy across the West, even when centre-left governments have been in power. But Daniel Yergin, who co-authored a book called “Commanding Heights” in 2002, argues that the concept is back. President Joe Biden’s spending bills on infrastructure, semiconductors and the climate seek to use industrial policy to strengthen investment in America and counter geopolitical competition from China. His government has a left-wing regulatory zeal not seen in generations. “The hand of the regulatory state has become stronger,” asserts Mr Yergin, who is also vice-chairman of & Global, a research firm.