Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World by Ian Bremmer

Author:Ian Bremmer [Bremmer, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-05-18T22:00:00+00:00

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Let’s be clear: America is not an exceptional nation. America is the most powerful, but that doesn’t mean it’s always right. We are not all-knowing, and the universal benefit is never our main concern. America has done much good in the world, and it will do more. But it has also done a lot of damage, particularly by trying to force our values on others without careful consideration of the consequences. Those who make American foreign policy and those who implement it must be guided by both discretion and humility. And they must remember that freedom is in the eye of the beholder.

As you listen to the next round of presidential debates, imagine you’re listening to Chinese political leaders telling their people that they are the world’s strongest, best, and brightest—that China, not America, is the best hope for a peaceful future. Imagine the French president telling his people that only France can offer the world a true moral compass. Imagine listening to Vladimir Putin telling his people that God has a special purpose for Russia. If you can imagine hearing these words from the leaders of other countries, then you can understand the reactions of their citizens to American debates on American exceptionalism. As George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it.” We may believe that ours is the most virtuous great power in history, and that people around the world are inspired by our example. But we can also accept that many are sick of sermons from our flag-lapel-wearing leaders—and that they resent our reflexive grandstanding. We can’t expect others to love their countries less or feel less loyalty for their homelands as we work to persuade them that our ideas are best.30

It’s time to cast a vote for strength, not the appearance of strength. Vote for American thrift, modesty, discretion, and sound judgment—the attributes that made the United States the most powerful and influential nation on earth. Vote for a foreign policy written not in poetry but in prose, one that will enhance our security and prosperity in the world we actually live, not the one we wish for. We can’t afford to hide from the world, but nor can we force our values on everyone else. Vote for the best traditions of our past.

Vote Moneyball.

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