That's not what is being discussed. The interesting question is what would the world look like today if different policies had been implemented. Of course we c

That's not what is being discussed. The interesting question is what would the world look like today if different policies had been implemented. Of course we can't know, so it is to a certain extent speculation. However, we can certainly question whether the reality met the expectations, and I think we can all agree that things haven't turned out as what predicted. I personally feel that globalisation and the decline in American manufacturing, and the rise of China are massively important factors and may have as much or more to do with how things turned out, but i'm no economist.