As Goes America, Goes The World

nypost.com ^ | August 19, 2008 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Free ThinkerNY]

RUSSIA invades Georgia. China jails dissidents. China and India pollute at unimaginable levels. Gulf monar chies make trillions from jacked-up oil prices. Islamic terrorists keep car bombing. Meanwhile, Europe offers moral lectures, while Japan and South Korea shrug and watch - all in a globalized world that tunes into the Olympics each night from Beijing.

"Citizens of the world" were supposed to share, in relative harmony, our new "Planet Earth," which was to have followed from a system of free trade, electronic communications, diplomacy and shared consumer capitalism.

But was that ever quite true? In reality, to the extent globalism worked, it followed from three unspoken assumptions:

First, the US economy would keep importing goods from abroad to drive international economic growth.

Second, the US military would keep the sea-lanes open, and trade and travel protected. The Americans, as global sheriff, would deal with the occasional menace, like a Moammar al-Khadafy, Slobodan Milosevic, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-il or the Taliban.

Third, America would ignore ankle-biting allies and remain engaged with the world - like a nurturing mom who at times must put up with the petulance of dependent teenagers.

But there've been a number of signs recently that globalization may soon lose its US parent.

[AprilfromTexas]

No worries, Pelosi said she was “trying to save the Planet”...she’s just on vacation.

[rhombus]

Yet globalization, in all its manifestations, will run out of steam the moment we tire of fueling it, as the world returns instead to the mindset of the 1930s - with protectionist tariffs; weak, disarmed democracies; an isolationist America; predatory dictatorships; and a demoralized gloom-and-doom Western elite.

Ouch.

[rock_lobsta]

for your ping list.

[Heavyrunner]

If only this article were true.

Unfortunately, Washington will fiddle as Rome burns. Congress and either presumptive presidential candidate lack the will or foresight to make the hard decisions to protect our own interests.

The more realistic outcome is an eventual global economic meltdown fueled by an American bankruptcy (read: Zimbabwelike inflation as the dollar becomes worthless.)

And sadly, we can’t even produce our way out of it. Watch how little use the world has for a service-based economy when we stop buying their goods. :(

I hope I’m wrong, but America feels an awful lot like my bill desk when my credit cards are maxed out at the moment.

[Cicero]

Just so. The UN likes to play pretend peace keeper, but the only real enforcer of law in most parts of the world today is the U.S. If the U.S. tires of spending trillions on helping a world that doesn't want help, and on propping up third world economies, watch out. We may decide to turn inward and circle the wagons.

In that case:

We may be on our way back to an old world, where the strong do as they will, and the weak suffer as they must.

[UltraKonservativen]

wow!...The perfect world of the Democrats is on the horizon?

[iThinkBig]

You are not incorrect in the process, but I disagree with the recovery process as short and painful as it might be. There are 545 people running our government.

A portion are overlegislating and underlegislating, pandering to special interests, spending faster then we can print, theives, bribes etc. etc.

However, when the house of cards falls you will see many of these crooks swept out of office. And you have one great population ready to do what it takes to fix it. When I see 70 year olds working at Wal Mart and my semi-spoiled X generation working 14 hour days in the cube, I know it’s just down to our own government in the way.

But in the end 60 million pitch fork owners are not wrong and nor do I think it will come to this. There are three times in history when House/Senate had less then 90% reelection rate. Those years were 1864, 1934 and and 1894.

In those years the reelection rate was in the 70% range. What do you think happened to 100-150 bums in those election years? That is what I expect by 2012. And we do have plenty of nuclear weapons, submarines, predator drones, airborne lasers to defend our borders, plus six times the amount of food as the Great Depression with 50% of the population. Do you feel a little better? Live in faith, not in fear friend. You have many, many Patriots nearby and we have plenty of buckets to put out the fires of Rome and chuck Nero into the swamp.

[Cacique]

btt

[AprilfromTexas]

“I hope I’m wrong, but America feels an awful lot like my bill desk when my credit cards are maxed out at the moment.”

lol, you hit the nail on the head, a little more concise than me.

I hope iThink big is right and we have enough folks left with the fortitude to rectify the ship before it goes down. I’m about ready to show up on Capitol Hill with the masses and escort the treasonous slugs out of there.

[Paul Ross]

VDH getsts it 180-degrees wrong.

We need to turn "protectionist" to get "free trade"...in the FULL sense of the word.

Then we can produce our way out of this mess. Reagan didn't hesitate. He used his Fair trade version of free trade to enforce U.S. production supremacy. He did not believe we needed to just whine about being patsies. He Punished Japan and with salutory results. He left with a huge MANUFACTURING surplus that almost eliminated the entire trade deficit. And he also rebuilt the great military the wanna-bes and posers have been merely coasting on ever since.

We need to restore it again. Rebuild again. And make it ALL in the USA. No freaking foreign components.

And Russia, IRAN...and CHINA... will then definitely mind their P's and Q's with a renewed, belligerant and TOUGH U.S.A.

And real allies don't need to be bribed by our buying their parts, or giving them a trade surplus.

And "Global profits" going down will be more than offset by truly U.S. profits going way back up. Just ask the U.S. middle class.

[iThinkBig]

We do. And the ‘ship’ going down is relative. It’s not going to be fun or easy for awhile but yes, there are many, many Patriots. God bless you all!

[rob777]

"However, when the house of cards falls you will see many of these crooks swept out of office. And you have one great population ready to do what it takes to fix it."


When the "house of cards" fell in Germany and the leaders of the Wiemar Republic were "swept out of office", they were replaced by the Nazis. A time of crisis often results in going from bad to worse.

[ovrtaxt]

It could go either way. Control freaks are always poised to take greater control at the expense of our freedom, if we aren’t prepared or organized enough to defend it.

Also, there are more than 545 people running things. International corporations, central banks, the media and other products an enablers of fascism/ socialism are quite influential. Remember what happened to the ‘revolution’ of 94.

Free people need cohesive leadership against the various agents of the state, the one very critical thing we seem to be lacking right now.

[Clintonfatigued]

“We need to turn “protectionist” to get “free trade”...in the FULL sense of the word.”

Good posting!

[Tolik]

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