“That Particular” American Dream is Long Dead; Tariffs Will Never Bring it Back

For decades, the American heartland prided itself on hard work, toughness, and resilience. The Hollywood stereotypical image of men who built the country—truck drivers, factory workers, steelworkers, homebuilders—believed their way of life would always be the backbone of America. They saw themselves as the muscle that powered the economy, as the tough, hard-drinking, hard-working men who kept America moving. But that world is gone. And no number of tariffs, promises of protectionism, or rhetoric from politicians will bring it back.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, America’s economic elite decided it was cheaper to outsource manufacturing jobs to Asia. Countries like China, Japan, and South Korea took on the work America used to do—building cars, industrial equipment, and consumer goods—at a fraction of the cost. Corporations, always looking for higher profit margins, eagerly sent production overseas, where wages were lower, regulations were weaker, and unions had no say. And what did Americans do? They let it happen.

The average Midwestern worker held onto the belief that these jobs would return. And they held onto the Hollywood image of what they thought they were way back when. And Presidents and politicians fed into this fantasy, making empty promises about “bringing back manufacturing.” But the truth is, even if America wanted to revive its manufacturing dominance, it couldn’t. The intellectual property, the factory infrastructure, the specialised workforce—it’s all gone. It would take an entire generation to rebuild, and in an era of automation and AI, there’s no economic incentive to do so.

Even if American manufacturing were revived, would today’s workers even do the jobs? The reality is, many of these positions have become undesirable, and the wage expectations of American workers don’t match the global economy. Factory work that once provided a middle-class income now pays barely above minimum wage, and even then, the jobs are increasingly filled by immigrants willing to do gruelling labour for low pay.

The old-school, rough-and-tough American worker who once laboured in steel mills and auto plants has been replaced by a younger generation that is less willing to do physically demanding work. Those who once saw themselves as blue-collar warriors failed to adapt, unwilling to learn new trades or embrace the very technology that was reshaping the world around them. Instead of pivoting to new industries, many clung to nostalgia, watching as entire towns collapsed and their standard of living eroded.

Clinton Was Right: “That world Is gone”

Bill Clinton warned in the 1990s that America’s industrial economy was not coming back. NAFTA was just a symptom of a much larger shift—one where globalisation, automation, and technology changed the rules of the game. Clinton, and others like him, knew that manufacturing’s golden age was over. But instead of listening, many Americans kept believing in the illusion that they could return to the past.

The truth is painful: America let the world slip by. While other nations built industries for the future, America clung to outdated notions of masculinity, work ethic, and economic identity. It failed to embrace technology and innovation in time. And now, in a last-ditch effort to hold onto a bygone era, many call for tariffs and trade wars, believing these policies will magically bring back their lost way of life. They won’t.

The Harsh Reality: Adapt or Be Left Behind

The hard truth is that tariffs will never resurrect America’s industrial past. The world has moved on. Global supply chains, advanced robotics, and artificial intelligence now dictate the economy. Even if America imposed the highest tariffs imaginable, companies would still find ways to produce goods more cheaply elsewhere.

So what’s left for America’s working class? Adaptation. Those who have learned new trades, embraced technology, and pivoted to industries like software, renewable energy, or high-tech manufacturing have found success. Those who refuse to change, who still see themselves as the men in trucks, hanging onto an identity that no longer fits the economy—well, they will continue to struggle.

The old America, the one built on factories, steel, and muscle, is never coming back. The only question left is: will America finally accept it and move forward, or will it stay stuck in a fantasy that no tariff, no law, and no politician can ever make real again?