9/03/2021

The age of American privilege is over



Successful statecraft aligns interests with circumstance. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a generation of statesmen grasping this essential truth presided over a radical reorientation of basic U.S policy. The result was a half-century of American global primacy.

Now, however, the era of American primacy has ended. The imperative of the present moment is to adjust U.S. policy to rapidly changing circumstances. In the two decades since 9/11, members of the foreign policy establishment have sought to finesse or avoid this issue. The failure of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan suggests that this is no longer possible.

Writing in 1948, George Kennan, director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, made an essential point. “We have about 50 percent of the world’s wealth, but only 6.3 percent of its population,” he wrote. “Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity.”

With this purpose in mind, Kennan’s associates, chief among them George Marshall, Dean Acheson, James Forrestal and Paul Nitze — White males all — undertook a series of initiatives aimed at perpetuating this position of disparity. Their approach centered on devising mechanisms to project American power globally.

Among their best-known initiatives were the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and NATO. Hardly less important was the National Security Act of 1947, which, among other things, created the CIA; NSC-68, a secret document that in 1950 committed the United States to the pursuit of permanent military superiority; and the fashioning of Strategic Air Command into an instrument of genocidal nuclear attack.

On balance, throughout the decades-long Cold War, Americans enjoyed a way of life that made the United States the envy of the world — free, democratic and prosperous. So at least most Americans themselves firmly believed.

By this time, the correlation between U.S. policy and Kennan’s position of disparity had long since begun to unravel. In 2000, the United States accounted for 32.6 percent of the world’s wealth. A mere two decades later, America’s share of global wealth had shrunk to less than 30 percent. Simultaneously, within the United States itself, the gap between the rich and the non-rich was increasing by leaps and bounds, contributing to profound domestic unrest.

“Free, democratic and prosperous” no longer suffices to describe contemporary America, even in the eyes of many Americans. The postwar formula for sustaining a position of global privilege is no longer working. Indeed, it has become irrelevant at best or counterproductive at worst.

Ever the realist, George Kennan would have unhesitatingly acknowledged that fact. For that reason, he would certainly have supported President Biden’s decision to end the war in Afghanistan.

But as a strategist, Kennan would have gone further, recognizing that the most pressing threats to American security and well-being are no longer “out there” in Central Asia or in other distant theaters but “back here.” Those threats include disease, climate chaos, environmental deterioration, porous borders, the erosion of personal privacy and, perhaps most insidiously, the unraveling of domestic comity.

The paradigm of power projection, with its emphasis on military intervention abroad, no longer provides a relevant response to these threats.

The genius of Kennan and his contemporaries was to recognize the imperative of fundamentally changing America’s approach to the world. The lesson of Afghanistan, confirmed by the astonishing display of incompetence that has accompanied the U.S. withdrawal, is that it’s past time for the present generation to do the same.

The American war in Afghanistan ends in bitter humiliation. But it should also serve as a wake-up call. The age of American privilege is gone for good.

- WP Sep 02 2021

5 comments:

  1. The loser US Empire is trying to dictate what other countries must do to shoulder the US's primary responsibility with the refugees situation in Afghanistan created by the US military withdrawal.

    A so-called champion for democracy is using undemocratic Dictatorial ways to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of other countries whenever it suits the US politicians.

    What sick joke is that? Making a mockery of Democracy!

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  2. It is no use arguing about whether the fall of the USA is imminent. The denial is always there. No one watching from outside can change all that, since those inside seems to ignore the reality.

    Just look at the state of the country which is completely ignored by those in power, and those in power are instead concentrating on starting conflicts and spending useless money enriching rich allies to tow their line. Never mind the situation at home that they think no one knows.

    Just go to Youtube to understand the problems facing the USA. It is a sick society, with drugs and homelessness the current endemic in their own backyard which they are unable to control. This is going to tear the country apart in due time. Yet they pretend that everything is rosy and fine and people are flocking to USA.

    The drug problem and homelessness in every USA state is beyond redemption, with Law Enforcement practically ignoring the issue and turning a blind eye to drug dealers doing their business in front of Police Stations. The Law Enforcers say they are powerless to do anything and arrest is just a formality and judges refusing to punish those drug abusers and instead choose to let the off almost immediately. So much so that the Police are aware and are not just doing an exercise in futility.

    Where tent cities are set up, piles of rubbish littered with needles used by drug addicts are left all over. You have to be careful not to step on needles and human poo along the streets. The Government don't care, the police don't care and things are just going from bad to worse without action taken to stop the rot. It is the truth that things are really out of control, and a really sad way in which a first world country, the richest in the world, ends up in such a state.

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  3. America is living on borrowed time and borrowed dollars. US is the biggest debtor nation that ever existed - $30trillion. To put in in perspective_ Singapore GDP is $372Billion. If Singapore maintains this number, without growth or recession, it would take US 80 Singapore GDP years to clear all its debts, excluding interests.

    So all these Americans bragging about their country being the richest in the world is pure hallucination. The rich are really filthy rich that their challenge these days is about who get to space first. The poor have to build cardboards as home and lining up for meals at food kichens. But US has no problems spending trillions waging wars and support for sychopant regimes.

    The only thing that keep them going is the dollar being the reserve currency and they could borrow like there is no tomorrow to fund whatever they want . And yet, it make full use of this advantage politically by imposing sanctions on countries who do not toe its lines. The sooner the world ditch the dollar, the better it is for all.

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  4. Countries are wising up. Surplus US$ can still buy up gold and oil internationally, USA real estate, USA companies, homes in the USA, not to mention investing in infrastructure developments in many countries worldwide. Yes, fiat money, but they still have to honour it when it goes back to the USA, or they will collapse.

    The trade war is to prevent China from accumulating too much US$ that can be used to buy up big chunks of the USA. They realised it too late and tried to yank back the dough. But they now produce nothing of use that China needs, and China needs things they would not sell. How to reduce the deficit?

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  5. The age of American privilege is over, but they are still trying to prolong it, like the Brits, still thinking and acting like their glory days are still around. From the British Empire, to United Kingdom, to Great Britain, to British Isles and soon to just England. What a mess! On the head!

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