There is this economic drive behind it. The phrase summed up a lot about the world America has built since the end of the Cold War as the urgency of the postwar decades and the shadow of nuclear holocaust faded. The first American presidential campaign after the Berlin Wall came down was driven by a slogan—“It’s the economy, stupid”—whose very effectiveness became a trap. GDP growth. Deficits. Gas prices. The markets. The politics of wealth creation. The wealth that funds politics. The wealthy and the politicians appearing on panel discussions at international conferences to discuss vague
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