It all depends on how you look at the question. By traditional standards –
GDP, military might, trade and financial importance, modern infrastructure, high
rates of economic renewal and entrepreneurship – of course the United States is
first world, if not alpha world, above all reckoning, a megalith of power,
industry, and wealth.
If one looks at the less quantifiable measures of maturity – a fair and
equitable system of justice, social and economic equality, strong moral and
ethical principles which guide every public and private activity, and a
responsive representative government – the answer must be a resounding ‘No’.
This conclusion is not hard to come by. An electoral system which mandates
Congressional elections every two years is a surefire way to guarantee their
purchase by special interests. A checks-and-balances system within an
environment of corporate ownership is nothing more than window dressing. The
Supreme Court – the final arbiter of Constitutional right – is as political an
institution as any. Despite claims to the contrary, Justices vote the party
line almost exclusively, and recently have done more to increase the stature and
influence of corporate interests than ever before.
In a recent interview Vladimir Putin, a veteran of four American
presidencies, said that he saw no difference among them. They were beholden to
too many public and private interests to be able to shape a coherent, consistent
policy which reflected their own principles and purpose.
Figuring out American policy, he implied, was not difficult. Sabre-rattling
and military posturing without a clear, well-defined purpose. Short term
parochial economic and financial interests with no appreciation for the
interrelatedness of politics, economics, culture, society, and finance. A myopic
view of history and a moral exceptionalism which inhibits rational geopolitical
analysis and decision-making. An elected government which, because of its debt
to large contributors and narrow, necessarily venal narrow parochial interests,
cannot see beyond the cow pasture or the bank account.
A self-indulgent,
aimless, populace with little appetite for sacrifice, even less for
consideration of national interests or the well-being of the commonweal.
Few Americans want to look favorably on Russia and China, autocracies which,
thanks to their historical vision, modern management, and political savvy – let
alone their uninhibited ability to act unilaterally – have increased their power
and influence from near ruin to superpower in a few short decades. China barely
survived Mao and the Cultural Revolution, but thanks to the vision and political
courage of Deng Xiaoping, the country is now an economic and international
powerhouse.
Russia was in disarray after the fall of the Soviet Union as every Communist
principle, program, and initiative was dismissed and relegated to history. Yet
in only a relatively few years, Russia has regained its economic momentum and
international political influence. It is unbelievable, as intimidating and
powerful a foe to the United States as the Soviet Union ever was.
The move away from liberal democracy to authoritarianism can also be seen not
only in Russia and China but in the Middle East and increasingly in Western
Europe. Citizens in all these regions are increasingly disturbed about levels
of civic disorder and the threat of political and social divisions to culture,
international status, and economic growth.
China has long stated that economic growth and rational distribution of
wealth takes priority over civil rights. Giving up certain individual rights
for the sake of the commonweal is the responsibility of every Chinese
citizen. China’s absolute intolerance for rebellious ethnic groups such as the
Uighurs and the Tibetans has great support within the majority Han population
which sees any disruption of the well-knit national fabric a threat to
well-being and prosperity.
There are allegations that China’s policy against rebellious ethnicities is
not only an abrogation of civil rights but human rights; but neither the
Politburo nor of the people seem to object.
Vladimir Putin has been subject to the same allegations concerning his war
against Chechnya and Islamic separatism. There is no room for civic, ethnic, or
religious unrest in a country whose President is trying to reestablish its
imperial status and geo-political power. Putin has approval ratings that any
American president would wish.
France, long exemplary for respecting the principles of the
Revolution, guaranteeing equal rights to all within the context of liberty,
equality, and fraternity, has abruptly abrogated if not eliminated many such
rights in the face of Islamic terrorism. Germany and Scandinavia are
questioning their long-standing policies of social tolerance and are more
willing to suspend the rights of refugees in an attempt to stave of civil
unrest, violence, and a dilution of national culture.
Talks of returning to military rule have surfaced in Brazil, and its case is
most like that of the Philippines. Crime rates, corruption, internecine
political fighting, vast inequalities of wealth and privilege, are similar in
both countries; and in both the people have said “Enough”. Despite the
brutality of previous military regimes, many Brazilians look back to the days of
autocracy as peaceful and harmonious which they were.
Haiti was a crime-free, peaceful country, congenial to tourism because of the
Duvaliers and the Tonton Macoutes. Since the fall of the Duvaliers, the country
has been riven by crime, political violence, corruption, and perpetual civic
unrest. It is no wonder that many poor Haitians have revisionist thoughts about
the reinstatement of authoritarianism.
The Tonton Macoutes were accused of extrajudicial killings, all in the name
of preserving the absolute authority of the Duvaliers. The police of Rio de
Janeiro have been similarly accused of similar actions in the favelas. Crime,
they say, is not only endemic but viral in the slums, and there is no way that
the slow, ponderous, and often corrupt system of justice can possibly deter let
alone eliminate crime.
Countries which have given up on traditional Western liberalism and have
turned to more authoritarian leadership and both secular and religious
nationalism find the United States’ disarray, fractiousness, incessant parsing
of gender and the most minor and insignificant civil ‘rights’, vaudevillian – a
circus show of ‘democracy’ with little substance behind it.
Advocates for ethnic and religious separatism have no use for American
democratic values. God’s will is supreme and His law will forevermore be the
law of His people. Allegiance to race and ethnicity has always preceded a more
general inclusiveness; and the tendency now is to revert to more fundamental
social precepts.
America may still have the world’s most powerful military, but, say
international critics, it has been neutered by the smallest and most powerless
nations. The war in Vietnam should have been won by the United States, but its
overweening concern for the hearts and minds of civilians let insurrection grow;
while its carpet bombing only hardened local resolve. The Taliban have never
been defeated in Afghanistan, the incursion into Iraq has been an unmitigated
failure, the accord with Iran a big giveaway, and the on-again, off-again
military engagement in Syria laughable.
America may be a financial powerhouse, but the Great Recession of 2007 showed
how badly corrupted Wall Street was; and the gigantic bailouts necessary to save
the ship from foundering were not signs of political and economic health and
promise, but of a last-resort desperation move to save a fractured institution.
By mid-2017, the total amount of official debt owed by the federal, state and
local governments to China was more than $19.4 trillion. That figure is expected
to reach at least $20.2 trillion by the start of 2018. Some experts add more
than $120 trillion in unfunded future liabilities on the federal government
balance sheet (Investopedia.com). Such debt can only further limit
American influence.
America might be at the forefront of oil and gas exploration, but has yet to
learn – like Russia – how to use energy as a geopolitical tool. Without a
coherent, united foreign policy which includes energy, the State Department will
always be outmaneuvered by Russia.
‘Paper Tiger’ said Mao and the Chinese Communists. ‘Capitalist running dogs’;
but in the days of the Cold War, pointing a staggering number of nuclear weapons
in their direction was enough. No need to figure out China’s internal problems,
its cultural foundations, its past empires, or its resource potential.
To many historians America is showing signs not only of decline but of
deterioration. In 250 years a Republic founded on principle, the rule of law,
and a political philosophy which represented the best of the Enlightenment, has
become chaotic, ungovernable, and self-important. There is no way that a
country so obsessed with selfish individualism, identity politics, and ruled by
a venal, equally selfish government can possibly retain its power and
influence. Only countries with a distinct goal, and the will and resources to
achieve it can prevail.
We may dismiss Russia’s neo-Imperial designs or China’s elegies to its own
Dynastic past as ‘undemocratic’; but in so doing we miss the essential nature of
modern rule. We are a nation of process not substance. We have no culture but
ambition, progress, mobility, and expression; and it is hard for us to
appreciate how and why France can be so tenacious about safeguarding its
patrimony.
All of which leads to a final, inescapable, sorry conclusion. If the US is
really a Third World country, then there is no reason whatsoever to pay
attention to its hectoring demands for reform. What do they know?
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Is The United States A Third World Country? Of Course It Is
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