President Barack Obama, addressing car workers recently at a GM plant in Michigan, defended his administration's motor industry bail-out, saying that it had rescued “the heart and soul” of American manufacturing, that “has been a symbol of our economic power”. Mr Obama's words are only the latest in a new movement embraced by manufacturing chiefs and politicians alike – the new fetish for manufacturing.
Thus Jeffrey Immelt, the otherwise thoughtful chief executive of General Electric (a predominantly manufacturing company), proposed in July that the US have a new national goal to ensure “manufacturing jobs be no less than 20 per cent of total employment, about twice what it is today”. Congressional Democrats recently launched their “make it in America” agenda, passed a manufacturing enhancement act and set up a commission to promote manufacturing.
This new fascination with manufacturing is a direct consequence of the financial crisis. The crisis began on Wall Street, so many conclude that the financial services sector is socially harmful or over-expanded and needs to be restricted. By contrast, it seems logical that manufacturing is both socially useful and ought to be larger.