tional amendment. Within such anframework, the pubhc must choosenspending reduction or tax increases.nBoth the supply-siders and the economynshould win that one.n”Although he is surely too serious-mindednan ideologue to have planned it that way,nMr. Roberts’s book yields a description ofnthe egos, power grabs and ambitions of thenpeople involved that turns “The Supply-nSide Revolution” into a kind of oldfashionednWestern shoot-out set against andismal background of economic policynmaking.”nThe New York Times Book ReviewnAnother issue that calls for a policynsurpassing what the supply-siders havenyet proposed is reindustrialization, onenof several topics addressed by FelixnRohatyn in his collection of essays.nRohatyn is a senior partner in theninvestment banking firm of LazardnFreres. He has had experience bailingnout the N.Y. Stock Exchange in 1970nand New York City in 1975 as a leadernin both financial rescue operations.nThough most often associated withnDemocratic candidates, he is consideredna neoliberal willing to break withnthe past and adopt policies which reflectnmany of the concerns voiced bynconservatives. This may be most obviousnin his essay on the Polish debt. Henadvocated pushing Poland into defaultnwhile severely restricting future loansnto the Communist bloc. To Rohatyn,ncapital is a vital resource. Policynshould concentrate on attracting investmentnhere rather than letting capitalnflow to our enemies. When foreignnoperations of American banks conflictn10/CHRONICLES OF CULTUREnIN THE MAILnwith the economic aspects of nationalnsecurity, the banks must yield.nThis raises a contradiction whichnthe right must face. As nationalists,nconservatives want to maximize thencountry’s material strength, which dependsnon technology and the economicnbase. But as supporters of capitalism,nconservatives advocate a “freenmarket” even when that market ignoresnnational borders. The contradictionnoccurs when the workings of thenglobal market undermine the sinews ofnAmerican industrial power.nRohatyn describes manufacturingnindustries in trouble:nHarshly affected by foreign competition,nunable to raise vastnamounts of capital needed tonmodernize, they live from hand tonmouth, not investing in the futurenin order to survive today. Theynare also affected by a deep structuralnshift not only in regionalnprosperity but … in the basicnnature of American work as welln—the shift away from productivenindustry toward consumer and retailnservices.nThe American economy has producednover six million new jobs in thenlast four years, but at the same timenhas lost over two million jobs in heavynindustry. The economy can providenjobs, but it makes a difference whatnthose jobs are. Firms which producenfast-food and financial-planning servicesndo not contribute the samenstrength and balance to the nation asndo steel mills, shipyards, and autoassemblynplants. Nor do they redressnthe imbalance of payments since theynneither produce exports nor replacen19 Masks for the Naked Poet by Nancy Willard; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; San Diego. Thentliird poem, “Tlie Poet Meets God Who Is Riding on a Pig,” is representative of thencollection. Question is, will Aquinas or Hormel be the better interpreter?nParadise Restored: An Eschatology of Dominion by David Chilton; Reconstruction Press;nTyler, TX. The early Church argued for a century before finally accepting Revelation as partnof the canon. Speculative commentaries like this one—which turns John’s vision into anmandate for fundamentalist theocracy—suggest why many third- and fourth-centurynauthorities were dubious.nAngel in the Parlor: Five Stories and Eight Essays by Nancy Willard; Harcourt BracenJovanovich; San Diego. “True storytelling, ” explains the introduction, “begins with the sensenof wonder.” In the late 20th century—after Mailer, Vonnegut, and Roth—a writer ofndelicate amazements is a rare find.nnnimports. In time, this shift can underminenliving standards as low-pay, lowproductivitynservice jobs replace thenhigh-pay, high-productivity jobs innmanufacturing.nIn the global industrial economy,nthere are very few free markets, non”natural” division of labor, and littlenharmony of interest. To operate as ifnthere were such things is to allow thenpolicies of other nations to determinenwhat industries America will benallowed to keep (i.e. those industriesnno one else wants). “Certainly we needntax cuts and regulatory reform and anbalanced budget,” says Rohatyn, butnwe need more. His suggestion is a newnReconstruction Finance Corporahonnwhich will supply capital to those industriesnour economy needs to maintainnand advance. Not loans whichnwould increase the burden of debt, butnequity capital. Instead of destroyingncapital as government policy has beenndoing, the government would work toncreate capital.nRohatyn is not talking about pickingn”winners” out of domestic competitors.nHe realizes that governments arennot very good at this, nor do “winners”nneed such help. His aim is to savenstrategic industries from devastation bynforeign competitors. There is probablynno more traditional form of economicnpolicy than this. It is called mercantilism,nand has been the common practicenof all Great Powers when facingnstrong economic rivals.nThe U.S. had no such rivals immediatelynafter World War II, but timesnhave changed. Conservatives pridenthemselves on being realistic. Utopiannidealism and abstract theories are thenobsessions of the left. “Free trade” wasna concept adopted by English liberalismnand used to justify the breakup ofnthe Empire and the fall of Britain fromneconomic supremacy. It is time fornconservatives to ponder what categorynthis theory really falls into. As Robertsnsays, there is a “weakness tax” paid asnthe world “exploits our loss of economic,nmilitary and diplomatic supremacy.”nThis “tax” will not be automaticallynrepealed. Positive policiesnwill have to be adopted to. remove it.nWhile many commentators have considerednRoberts and Rohatyn to representnpolicy alternatives, we would benbetter served by adopting a policy synthesisnof their ideas. ccn