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Since the birth of our great nation, the naysayers and pundits have always claimed that the fall of the United States is just around the corner. The media and social elite have always identified an opponent and defined the world with an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Black vs. White, Democracy vs. Communism, East vs. West, Good vs. Evil; sound familiar? Throughout American history there has always been someone that was supposed to have toppled us, an ideology that was destined to one day replace our own. And historians and scholars have provided countless zombie theories speculating about the fall of the United States, always pointing for evidence to the great Empires of old like Rome and Han China. Yet with the rise of each new boogieman, America has always also arisen to meet the challenge. And just like waking from a bad dream, when Americans blink the sleep from their eyes and set to the task at hand, the great threat that once seemed to linger just beyond the horizon dissolves into nothing more than a faint, distant memory. Recently the website The Daily Beast published a review of the book, Why the West Rules – For Now. The author concludes that it is impossible to reverse the trend of America’s decline and the eventual rise of China as the world's super power. His reasoning, in a word is geography. Yet his concept of geography seems to lack a modern vantage point, thoroughly under appreciating the interconnectedness of the entire world. While It is true that the era of the singular super power has ended, it is also true that the age of coalitions and transgovernmentalism has only just begun. America may no longer be the sole super power, but it still has the strongest international coalition through which it will still take the lead in world governance.
A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
During the nations infancy, President Monroe produced what has since become known as the Monroe Doctrine. This policy was a warning for the great European powers, leave the Western hemisphere alone. It emphatically proclaimed that European colonization and imperialism would no longer be tolerated. While the doctrine itself was perceived as nothing more than an empty threat internationally, to Americans it became the original dichotomy. America came to be the symbol of freedom and democracy while it painted the traditional powers of Europe as imperialists who denied their colonies some of the most basic human rights.
This perception remained in place throughout World War II and helped direct United States foreign policy throughout much of the war. Economically, America embraced the idea of our own individuality in the form of high tariffs and isolationism. Before the income tax was instated, the United States government was primarily funded by extremely high tariffs placed on imported goods. This limited the amount of trade the nation had with other nations, which in that time was dominated by the European sea trade. When the First World War broke out, America was ecstatic to supply both sides with weapons and ammunition but it refused to get involved in what it deemed a European war. In the end, America was finally forced into the war and became the young juggernaut that toppled the Eastern Giants of old. By the time World War II began, America had once again slunk back into our own hemisphere and repeated our isolationist policies. It was only after the unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor that America rose from its slumber and finally toppled European Imperialism. When Queen Elizabeth took power in Great Britain, the sun never set upon the British Empire, yet during and still after World War II the British World began to fracture and splinter. Imperial Japan, which could be considered the first appearance of an Asian Tiger, is more appropriately cast as nothing more than a student of Europe at this time in its history.
After Commodore Perry forced open the ports of Japan with his show of military might, the Japanese eagerly learned the culture of their trading partners. With Great Britain and France in Southeast Asia and Australia, and Imperial Russia to the north, European culture swept across the island. When a dispirited and economically strained Russia attacked Japan, Japan beat them back convincingly. Emboldened by their regional superiority, the Japanese adopted the idea of Imperialism from the European greats, which had started to retreat. Their task then was simple, as the Europeans pulled out the Japanese stepped up behind them and made their own colonies. The transfer of power from one master to another was so seamless that most locals didn’t even see it coming. The defeat of Emperor Hirohito and Imperial Japan was in truth the final deathblow to America’s original sworn enemy, European style Imperialism.
With America’s greatest ideological enemy dead, the world seemed a different place. The world was elated to be free, the fact that World War I was seen as the war to end all wars is proof of that enough. Sadly, the time without an enemy was short lived. Initially billed to the American public as ‘Uncle Joe’, Joseph Stalin went from an ally when he met with President Truman and Prime Minister Churchill in Tehran, Iran to America’s sworn enemy shortly after. By the time of the McCarthy Witch Trials Communism had become the symbol of tyranny, despotism, and evil that colonization once had. In a sick twist of fate the last battlefield of colonization became the fore of the battle between democracy and communism, individuality vs. collectivism. South East Asia and Central America became a hot bed of political tension, and a military flash point between two armies fighting a pseudo-war.
Western Europe however developed into a place lost in time, stuck in the last days of World War II for years on end, epitomized by the fracturing of Germany. As the Iron Curtain settled over the satellite states of the Ukraine, Poland, and East Germany, the United States and its allies set itself up as the perfect foil of communism, championing a free political process and a free market. Eventually when the arms race came to a close and the dust of Afghanistan and Vietnam settled, the USSR was brought to its knees and it looked to the world as if America would be on top forever. In the 1990’s Americans were even further emboldened by the revelation that most of the Russian missiles couldn’t even leave their silos.
In the time since then two possible opponents have since appeared: China with its freer market capitalism, and Islamic fundamentalism. We will take a closer look at China and its position in the world a little later. However, Islamic fundamentalism appears to have played its last hand in the game of being a widely followed ideology. A month after 9/11, over eighty percent of the people in Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, condemned al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks. Most Muslims around the world agree they have distorted their own religion and turned it into a bloody weapon of selfish vengeance. With the fall of the Taliban and with a free and strong Iraq, terrorists have since had to find new shelters from legal prosecution.
Enter the Tigers
After World War II American interests in Japan and Southeast Asia did not decline. In fact, since the Treaty that ended the Pacific War contained a clause stating that Japan could not have an army of its own, but rather only a national police force, one could suggest that our involvement in the region was increased. The United States became the military protector of Japan and also became its greatest trading partner. This renewed interest the region was also good for the American allies in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The emergence of the Southeast Asian Tiger economies was beneficial not only for America who now had military as well as economic footholds throughout the region, but also for the governments of Southeast Asia. Japan became the second largest economy in the world and the emergence of the South Korean Chaebols, huge conglomerates that control the South Korean economy, provided a strong ally and partner which acts as a bulwark to one of the world’s last outposts of communism.
But perhaps the most significant development in the region is the rise of China. The American News media has latched into the fact that China is indeed emerging as a powerful country and has created a hyper sensationalized nightmare. Like ghost from the past, America has begun to pivot against China, much in the same way we once did against the USSR. This position has been further enforced by the realization that China’s GDP will surpass the United States by 2030. However lets look at the facts. China has one billion more people than the United States, which means its workforce is much greater than our own. It also has almost no environmental regulation and its industrialization is occurring at levels that would never be allowed within our own nation. It is true however; that China has somewhat opened up its government controlled economy and has indeed streamlined the process of opening up a business. However, combined with the Chinese government’s currency manipulation policies, this has created a false market that has indeed allowed it to grow and expand at a fantastic rate. But also remember that China’s military reach palls in comparison to our own, its soft power is almost nonexistent outside of Asia, and its only international partners are the states of North Korea and Vietnam, both of which it continuously props up with massive amounts of foreign aid.
The World Today
The day when one governments will makes the entire world work is over, instead globalization has led to the time transnational coalitions. This process had already begun with the creation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and continues today in the form of the United Nations. In this respect, the United States still has the distinct advantage. With our close relationship with the great powers of the world: Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, India, and Japan; China seems to have very few friends. Our reach extends to every corner of the globe, and although our ability to act unilaterally in every situation may have come and gone, our ability to lead other nations and the people of the world is just beginning. The United States has the clear and unique power of bringing democracy throughout the world and allowing all people the ability to make their own choices for their own future. The power of American democracy and individuality has not waned, and it is through our strong friendships that we will continue to lead the world as we are indeed, the ‘shinning city on the hill.’
Later,
Cody
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