Diplomacy and Empire (Part I) - by Chas W. Freeman
For much of the 20th century, the United States led the world not only economically and militarily, but also through the soft power of its ideals. As Chas Freeman writes in the first of three parts, the decision the United States made after September 11 to rule the world by force of arms has caused it to squander the prestige and goodwill it earned during the previous century — when it led by its arguments and the force of its example.
The current wave of anti-foreign and anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States also compounds the problem. A recent poll of foreign travelers showed that two-thirds considered the United States the most disagreeably unwelcoming country to visit. There is surely no security to be found in surly discourtesy.
The US spends much, much more on our military — about 5.7% of our economy, or $720 billion at present — than the rest of the world's other 192 nations combined. However, on the possitive side, with less than one-twentieth of the world's population, the US accounts for more than a fourth of its economic activity. Almost two-thirds of central bank reserves are held in our currency which, much to the US advantage, has dominated international financial markets for 60 years. The openness of our society to new people and ideas has made our country the greatest crucible of global technological innovation.
The result of aggressive unilateralism has been to separate us from our allies, to alienate us from our friends, to embolden our detractors, to create irresistible opportunities for our adversaries and competitors, to inflate the ranks of our enemies — and to resurrect the notion at the expense of international law and order that might makes right.
No comments:
Post a Comment