True, but it still means the current status is: Several countries that reached prominent economic positions with protectionist policies, and zero countries that

True, but it still means the current status is: Several countries that reached prominent economic positions with protectionist policies, and zero countries that reached such positions without them. Now perhaps those countries would have succeeded even more without protectionism. Do you go with something proven to work for your country, or experiment with an alternative with a worse track record?