[net.politics] The New Republic on Gary Hart

peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (02/29/84)

There's an interesting article on Gary Hart, who just won the New Hampshire
Democratic primary, in the January 23rd '84 issue of The New Republic.  It
delves into his background and how it shaped his "new ideas" orientation.
Those ideas have some natural appeal to the hi-tech USENet community, by
the way; quoting from TNR,
 "[Hart] sees industrial policy -- an explicit and coherent government role
in economic development -- as a way to accelerate growth, meet foreign
competition, and minimize the human costs of technological change.  He regards
the free market of Reagan's imagination as a myth.  Instead of passive reliance
on the ``magic of the marketplace,'' he would chart the trends of international
markets, restructure industries, and retrain workers.  Hart feels that the
post-industrial revolution we are experiencing is an upheaval every bit as
profound as the first industrial revolution.  His frequent statements on the
potential of high technology have often been interpreted as indifference to
declining regions and industries.  Lately, he has been saying that he favours
a ``balanced'' policy, one that applies high technology to basic manufacturing.
Still, he eschews protectionist measures, such as the automobile ``domestic
content'' bill advanced by labour, believing them to be attempts to preserve
the past and avoid the inescapable future."

From a Canadian fascinated by the spectacle of about half of the Democratic
candidates being thrown out based on the opinions of two states...
p. rowley, U. Toronto