Over the years I've heard countless arguments about which word best describes the American economic system. Some insist it is essentially socialist, while others favor the word fascism. (Fascism is socialism with a private-property and market veneer.) Still others describe the system as a mixed, or interventionist, economy. We need not decide among these because the huge system has many facets, at least some of which at some time or other have fit one or more of these terms. One term we might all agree on, however, is industrial policy. That's because it is general enough to cover almost...