Old World, Third World, Brave New World
By MARCIE FRIED WEIBGEN
June 30, 2008
The Post-American World, by Fareed Zakaria (W.W. Norton, $25.95)
The transformative growth of China, India and other quickly-developing nations is changing the established global power structure, says Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria. “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.” Their rise may signal the end of our nation’s role as top dog, but in a globally capitalist environment, the U.S. may still be able to maintain influence, manage threats and control battles over resources. America’s new role, Zakaria says, will be as “default power,” with “considerable ability to set the agenda.” For the moment at least, there doesn’t appear to be anyone else in a position to tend to global business.
Still and yet, Zakaria describes a world in which the United States will cease to dominate international politics, global economies and foreign cultures; in which the tallest buildings, biggest movies and largest malls are beyond our borders. Thus, even taking into account America’s still-vibrant strengths, says Zakaria, we could very well squander our competitive advantages – in large part, by restricting trade and immigration. The U.S. will suffer when other countries begin welcoming the new breed of huddled masses – the motivated and hardworking talent pool that will reshape the next century.
Ironically, it is precisely the areas in which the U.S. has pioneered and excelled – free trade, immigration, technological innovation and the furtherance of democracy – that are the foundation of this worldwide transformation. And paradoxically, trade and open immigration are no longer seen as favorable here at home. In a 2007 Pew survey of citizens in 47 countries, the U.S. placed at the bottom regarding positive attitudes toward free trade. As Zakaria observes, we’ve been promoting competitive markets, immigration and innovation for most of our history. Now that the rest of the world has caught on, “we are becoming suspicious of the very things we have long celebrated.”
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