By Carl Delfeld, author of
Red, White & Bold: The New American Century
America is a special country. Of course, in the eyes of God, all people are equal and individual Americans are certainly no better than citizens of other nations. Rather it is as a country that America is first among equals.
America has reached this stature in the world not by chance but rather by overcoming the stiffest challenges by always asking - why not? It started when the Winthrops, Dudleys, Bradstreets and the other colonists boarded the “Arbella” and improbably crossed the Atlantic to a new world. Full of faith, courage and optimism they asked themselves “why not?” and began the American saga.
George Washington, having never commanded more than a militia regiment, was offered the leadership of a ragtag army up against the most powerful military in the history of the world not to mention risking his own economic ruin, thought “why not?”
Abraham Lincoln, one-term congressman and twice failed Senate candidate, saw a slim chance at gaining the presidency in a divided country thought “why not?” and went on to vindicate the union and end slavery.
Undaunted by the incredible challenge of building a transcontinental railroad through the Rocky Mountains, the country asked “why not?”
Mounting the costliest, largest engineering challenge on earth to build a canal to unite two great oceans, the country asked “why not?”
Faced with the daunting logistics of fighting World War II across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at the same time, the country asked “why not?”
America, burdened by a crushing debt and exhausted by a world war, was immediately presented with the challenges of rebuilding Europe, bringing democracy to Japan and containing the Soviet Union while expanding economic growth at home, thought “why not?”
Despite formidable and dangerous obstacles, millions of pioneer families crossed the prairies to build new lives in the wilderness thought, “why not?”
Resisting the temptation to leverage its power to monopolize world markets, America instead asked “why not” and expanded opportunities, opened markets, and spread liberty and capitalism.
But as I write these words, America seems anything but first among equals having temporarily lost this precious “why not” attitude. We are being humbled and challenged like never before in our nation’s history. This may actually be a blessing in disguise for humility is an essential ingredient for greatness in a person as well as a nation.
Our financial institutions are broken, our markets are in turmoil, blue chip financial companies have either disappeared or have gone hat in hand for government bailouts, stock markets are reeling and consumers are shell shocked by economic uncertainty. Americans have suffered more than $15 trillion of losses to their home equity, retirement assets and savings over the last year. With three out of four Americans believing the country is on the wrong track, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mortgage and financial markets fiasco and the steady drumbeat of negative news from the media; stating emphatically that America is the greatest may seem a bit quaint and out of touch.
America now seems to be a giant bound up by a rope made up of the strands of complexity, debt, taxes, red tape, rights without responsibilities, dependence rather than self reliance and most of all; by an attitude of self doubt and uncertainty rather than faith and confidence.
Clearly, America needs a big dose of reform and the “can do” attitude that led to the American Century. David Reynolds in Waking Giant notes that the most common slang expression in mid-19th century America was “Go Ahead”. Americans are always looking ahead fueled by pride in the past.
This book looks back at all we have accomplished as a people and nation and then, more importantly, lays out, an aggressive “why not” agenda for renewing America’s greatness. After all, a trait of Americans is a willingness to learn and to strive to improve knowing that complacency is a cardinal sin. We have always been inveterate tinkerers and inventors searching for a better way forward.
But does America have the confidence and courage that is worth more than money and gold? Does America still represent boundless optimism and limitless opportunities? Many might also ask; does it even matter if America is leader of the world?
The answer to this comes from Sir Winston Churchill in his “If I Were An American” essay published in Life more than 60 years ago.
“When I reflected on the strengths of the United States, its freedoms and its many virtues, all the toils sacrifices, costs and burdens cast upon it, I might well have come to the conclusion that the United States has no choice but to lead or fail.”……….Americans should not hesitate to march forward unswervingly upon the path to which Destiny has called them, guided by the principles of the Declaration of Independence, expressed so carefully and so pregnantly in the balanced well-shaped language of the 18th Century, by the founders of the greatest State in the world.”
Still, a growing number of commentators insist that America is moving past the pinnacle of its economic power and global influence and that the 21st century belongs to Asia.
In Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat”, it is argued that because of breakthroughs in technology and communications, distinctions between countries are becoming less important. Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World focuses on the rise of our competitors and the relative decline of American influence.
I believe that the world is round and that America is at the top. Even better, if we take vigorous action for the common good, America’s best days are yet to come. We are still on the rise, way short of our apogee, with ample opportunities to expand our influence and prosperity.
As head of a financial publishing and investment advisory firm focused on global markets, I follow with keen interest the economic progress that many emerging market countries are making and applaud that a billion people have been pulled out of poverty over the last twenty years. Though the economic challenge from a rising Asia should not be underestimated, I also recognize many of the shortcomings of our competitors and believe the media is overstating America’s weaknesses and missing many of America’s great competitive advantages.
In an increasingly competitive global marketplace and in the diplomatic corridors of power, America still stands alone.
Our future is in our hands.
But our hands must be strong, nimble and confident for history shows that great countries and civilizations often fail due to one or more of three shortcomings: a lack of fiscal discipline, a culture that does not promote risk taking, openness, scientific innovation or the common good, and a foreign policy not grounded in the national interest and executed at the extremes of isolationism or foreign interventionism.
America has been blessed by geography, ample natural resources and a free form of government that allows it to be strong, secure and independent even as it participates fully in the global marketplace.
America is a great and good country but it can be greater and better. Especially now, it needs to recapture its jaunty “why not” spirit because America can hardly afford to stand still. It needs a spurt of creativity and growth that resembles the period in the early 20th century when it first emerged as a major player on the global stage.
Here is how Charles Morris describes this era in the opening of his book The Tycoons:
“America was not only the most populous of industrial countries but the richest by any standard. – per capita income, natural resource endowment, industrial production, the value of its farms and factories. It dominated world markets – not just in steel and oil but in wheat and cotton. It ran huge trade surpluses in goods and was gaining preeminence in financial services. Its people were the most mobile, the most productive, the most inventive, and, on average, the best educated. Attentive European elites were shocked as they came to understand the scale and speed of America’s ascendancy”
Senator Chauncey Depew of New York welcomed the new century with these words:
“There is not a man here who does not feel 400 percent bigger in 1900….bigger intellectually, bigger hopefully, bigger patriotically….from the fact that he is a citizen of a country that has become a world power for peace, for civilization and from the expansion of its industries and the products of its labors.”
Or as the historian Gordon Wood describes America at its economic surge was just getting underway; “something momentous was happening in the society and culture that released the aspirations and energies of common people as never before in American history”. This “something momentous” was the beginnings of American capitalism and an industrial revolution.
We need to renew these “energies of the common people” on a grander scale. Even though the American economy is now much more than just an industrial power, many of the comments about America in the above passage are still apt today.
America is still home to 700 of the world’s largest 2,000 companies and 14 of the largest 30 multinational companies. Coca-Cola sells its products in over 200 countries and McDonalds has 32,00 restaurants spread all over the world. We also lead in global entrepreneurship and philanthropy. The vitality of the American economy is highlighted by the fact that only twenty of the current Fortune 100 companies were even around in 1980. Despite the current upheaval in financial markets, we still have the deepest and most liquid capital markets in the world.
But it appears that I have more confidence in America’s future than most. A recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicated that 55% of those polled believe that the U.S. will be equaled or surpassed as a global power over the next fifty years. The Chinese polled believe that their country will catch up to America in terms of global influence within ten years.
Every four years the National Intelligence Council – which oversees America’s patchwork of intelligence agencies – releases a global trends report, which is given to the new president. The latest report, published in November, 2008 notes that, “the most dramatic difference” between the new report and the one issued four years ago is that it now foresees “a world in which the US plays a prominent role in global events, but the US is seen as one among many global actors”.
I don’t know about you but I want America to remain the lead actor. My view is that while the world is clearly filling in and emerging competitors like India and China are catching up with us quickly due to rapid advancements in technology and communications, the American economy is more than holding its own. But without significant reforms, and more robust economic growth our lead will diminish incrementally.
Our debt, and our growing dependency on foreign governments to finance it, presents perhaps our greatest challenge. As Ronald Reagan out it; “It is hard to ride tall in the saddle when you owe everyone in town.” To paraphrase the former French President François Mitterrand: “growth is in the east and debts are in the west.”
But while many are intimidated by China’s supercharged economic growth rates, Russia’s petro-driven foreign exchange reserves, and the growth of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, I see the bigger picture – and would take America to come out on top in the arena of global competition any day of the week.
Russia’s embrace of authoritarianism and cronyism, India’s dysfunctional bureaucracy, and the fact that 34 of the largest 35 companies listed on the Shanghai exchange are still partially or fully owned by its government are just some indicators of the need to take a closer look before throwing in the towel.
Is it unrealistic to merit this description of America’s overwhelming competitive position following World War II by British historian Robert Payne?
“She sits bestride the world like a Colossus; no other power at any time in the world’s history has possessed so varied or so great an influence on other nations….half of the world’s wealth, more than half of the productivity, nearly two-thirds of the world’s machines are concentrated in American hands; the rest of the world lies in the shadow of American industry…”
Perhaps this dominance is elusive and indeed unhealthy but amidst the current financial turmoil and angst about America’s future glory, let’s all appreciate the tremendous achievements of the past 25 years.
There is much to be proud of and thankful for.