xepherys

I'm curious what other TFP Poli folks have to say on this topic. For those of you that don't know this, prior to World War II and the ensuing Cold War, the US was a very isolationist country. In many ways this worked well for our principles and desires as a nation. However, the tragedy of WWII, the development of nuclear armament and the Cold War pushed the US, somewhat unwillingly, into the global foray. This has been our way now for 60-some years. During this time we've become a global power, economically, militarily and politically. We have the means and resources to be the "world police" and "world humanitarians" spreading medical and financial aid, food to the poor, and military might to weak nations worldwide. This has been a great boon for us, and has also bitten us on the ass many a time. So my question is this:

What would be the benefits and/or ramifications of the US becoming an isolated country again (as much as can be done in the modern world). What are the possibilities of this happening and what else would need to occur?

Personally, I think that the only ramification to us would be global dislike for us NOT helping (despite that fact that people hate that we stick our nose into others' business). The world at large, however, I think might suffer greatly in the face of such an event. I'm not sure such a thing is even possible in our modern world, but it would certainly be an interesting social experiment (on a truly grand scale).