Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes The rise of a worker friendly Republican Party
Oct 3, 2025
Oren Cass, chief economist at American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker, delves into America's shifting political right. He discusses the move from Reagan-era free trade to a pro-worker economic agenda, emphasizing the importance of manufacturing for job quality and national security. Cass critiques the consumption-focused economic model and advocates for policies like balanced trade and industrial investment. He further connects family stability with economic success, proposing a reimagined approach to education and social policy that supports family flourishing.
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Romney Campaign Trade Investigation
- Oren Cass recounts being sent by Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign to investigate trade and China and discovering policymakers were blind to real harms.
- That experience shifted his focus from theory to fixing how economic policy affected real people.
Economics Focused On Consumption
- Cass argues economics was built around consumption rather than production, which hid harms from lost work opportunities.
- He says markets maximizing consumption miss the need for productive jobs and community stability.
Manufacturing Loss Harms Workers
- Making things matters for job quality because displaced manufacturing workers rarely move into better service roles.
- Cass cites MIT research showing displaced workers end up in lower‑paid, more precarious service jobs.
