| Last year my colleague, Sondre Ulvund Solstad, and I worked on an essay about what happens when loyalists come to hate the opposing party as depraved and evil. Politicians know that this “negative partisanship” is a powerful tool for mobilising their supporters. But portraying opponents as traitors degrades the quality of government—and risks tearing a country apart.
I was reminded of all this by our cover this week in the Americas, which looks into how President Donald Trump has federalised the National Guard and deployed the marines in Los Angeles. His purpose was not really to restore order: the local cops could handle the protesters on their own. It was to stir up MAGA loyalists in their belief that big cities are places where enemies lurk and invaders wave foreign flags. And it was to provoke liberals, look tough and dominate the news.
Our leader warns that what serves Mr Trump is bad for the country he governs. It is easy to see how—in LA or the other American cities where protests are planned this weekend—a confrontation could descend into widespread disorder or lethal violence.
In the rest of the world our cover explores politicians’ obsession with factories. From Germany to Indonesia, governments have flirted with inducements for chip- and battery-making. America wants to bring home everything from steelmaking to drug production, and is putting up tariff barriers to do so. Britain is considering subsidising manufacturers’ energy bills. India is offering incentives for electric-vehicle-makers, adding to a long-running industrial-subsidy scheme.
Unfortunately, this premise for the global manufacturing drive is based on misconceptions about the nature of modern economies. It will not succeed. In fact, it is likely to do more harm than good. | 
