New World Order
The era of America as the world’s preeminent superpower is passing. The rest of the world is going its own way and we can no longer afford the burden.
Beginning in 1917, when we rode to the rescue of Europe, we gradually emerged as THE indispensable nation-state. We rescued Europe from its second catastrophe of the 20th century and rebuilt its economy. We shattered Imperialist Japan, launched its democracy and restored its economy. We outlasted the Russian empire. We became the world’s policeman. We made numerous mistakes, but we got the job done.
All of that is rapidly fading. Europe no longer recognizes us as its savior and thinks it can go its own (more civilized) way. Japan no longer believes we will protect it from the Chinese and Russians. China and Russia are embracing each other in order to form an authoritarian superpower. The Iranians and Turks are aggressively working to build a block of influence in the Middle East.
Mostly, we can no longer dependably project overwhelming force of arms anywhere on earth because we are running out of money. The requirements of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid will soon eat all of the federal budget. Those programs will not be curtailed because old folks show up to vote and they are an increasing share of the electorate. Even major tax increases won’t be sufficient to do wealth transfer to the sick and elderly and simultaneously support a dominant military.
We should therefore think about forming our own block of nations dedicated to democracy, free trade and mutual defense. That coalition wouldn’t dominate the globe but it would be strong enough to discourage attack.
Initial membership might include Canada, Mexico, Britain, Norway, the Baltic states, Finland, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Colombia and Chile. We should be willing to welcome any other nation with open arms that is committed to democracy and free trade and is willing to handle its fair share of military expenditure. We may no longer be able to field a world class military by ourselves, but we could do it in coordination with other prosperous democracies. We could also continue to be a beacon of liberty for those living under oppressive regimes.
My bet is that the world is becoming progressively more chaotic and dangerous. We should get ready to cope with this emerging reality.
