Ely Ratner makes it clear that the US can't be a effective counterbalance to China without getting its own domestic politics and policies in order. I don't expect this to happen because the circumstances which contributed to the election of Trump are still there, which include:
-- Excessive deregulation since Reagan;
-- Excessive financialization of the US economy;
-- Divisive media (Fox News) and social media (Facebook) which contributes to the polarization of society;
-- Breakdown of agreement on what constitutes American identity in media and in education;
-- Excessive belief in freedom and individualism as the panacea for all answers, especially among angry Whites who have coalesced around Trump;
-- Lack of investment in infrastructure investment;
-- Failure of Democrats to successfully counter Republican scorched earth tactics in politics.
-- No party offers a vision for the future, so they fight over what happened in the past.
-- Everyone fighting for their own interests; there is no "commons" and common interests. US politicians have a hard time agreeing on what US interests are. When they cannot even agree on what US interests are, how do they advance them?
I am not alone in this assessment; Europeans expect China to overtake the US in one decade according to a South China Morning Post survey.
I am rooting for the new Biden administration, and I believe that Joe Biden is a decent and honest politician. I hope he succeeds.
The problem is that the problems he faces were not just made by Trump, but have accumulated over the past 40 years. The US would need 20 years of steady inspired leadership and a strong social consensus to correct them, and I don't expect those conditions to occur.
Ely Ratner makes it clear that the US can't be a effective counterbalance to China without getting its own domestic politics and policies in order. I don't expect this to happen because the circumstances which contributed to the election of Trump are still there, which include:
-- Excessive deregulation since Reagan;
-- Excessive financialization of the US economy;
-- Divisive media (Fox News) and social media (Facebook) which contributes to the polarization of society;
-- Breakdown of agreement on what constitutes American identity in media and in education;
-- Excessive belief in freedom and individualism as the panacea for all answers, especially among angry Whites who have coalesced around Trump;
-- Lack of investment in infrastructure investment;
-- Failure of Democrats to successfully counter Republican scorched earth tactics in politics.
-- No party offers a vision for the future, so they fight over what happened in the past.
-- Everyone fighting for their own interests; there is no "commons" and common interests. US politicians have a hard time agreeing on what US interests are. When they cannot even agree on what US interests are, how do they advance them?
I am not alone in this assessment; Europeans expect China to overtake the US in one decade according to a South China Morning Post survey.
I am rooting for the new Biden administration, and I believe that Joe Biden is a decent and honest politician. I hope he succeeds.
The problem is that the problems he faces were not just made by Trump, but have accumulated over the past 40 years. The US would need 20 years of steady inspired leadership and a strong social consensus to correct them, and I don't expect those conditions to occur.