Industrial policy has sharply divided the Right. National conservatives such as Oren Cass think America needs “public policy that encourages investment in particular sectors of the economy.” Many conservatives of a classical-liberal bent disagree. Commentators such as the Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg and policy wonks such as the Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome have forcefully argued against Uncle Sam picking winners and losers. The debate over whether the federal government should put its thumb on the scale of American manufacturing isn’t going away anytime soon — witness the public furor over the recent CHIPS Act and similar proposals.

Old-school conservatives are right to push back against national conservatives’ economic programs. Industrial policy is wasteful and ineffective and creates massive political graft bedsides. But there’s one claim free marketers should stop making: that industrial policy is impossible. On the contrary, it’s fully possible, which is why we should oppose it.