Karl Zinsmeister

In the following viewpoint, Karl Zinsmeister argues that Bill Clinton’s modeling of U.S. industrial policy after Japan’s is misguided because Japan’s policy has little to envy or copy. The history of failures of Japan’s industrial policy should be a warning to America, the author concludes. Zinsmeister lives in Ithaca, New York, and is editor-in-chief of American Enterprise magazine, a publication of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research and education organization in Washington, D.C.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Zinsmeister’s opinion, how did the Japanese auto industry reach its current level of excellence?
2. How have government policies harmed Japan’s financial sector, according to Zinsmeister?
3. According to the author, over what industries has Japan’s...