Quote:
Originally Posted by alansmithee
I really put little import on how we are viewed in the world. So much of the "goodwill" that the rest of the world had for us during the Cold War era was simply because we were mostly seen as the lesser of two evils, and our military buildup essentially allowed the rest of the world to free-ride on our military might, without destroying their economys. The rest of the world wanted the US to go away when the Soviet Union fell. We beat up the old town bully, and now (regardless of our intentions) the townsfolk see us as the bully, simply because we have the most power. The only thing that would cause the return of the "goodwill" would be if another true superpower emerged. Personally, I think the best thing for the US is to go strict isolationist, at least in non-economic dealings. No military interventions, no sanctioning, no anything. North Korea isn't an immediate threat to us, let China/Russia/Japan deal with them. It's obvious we are just spinning our wheels at this point in the middle east, so lets pull out. Let the rest of the world deal with the world's problems, we have more than enough here to deal with ourselves.
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Absolutely! Because isolationsim has worked so well for us in the past! Man it did wonders for our economy. our domestic interest, and international stability! Why did we ever get away from that in the first place? /sarcasm
Having ever read an American History book, how can you think that is a good idea? Honestly, all that aside, you have to realize that if we turn inwards we give up hegemony. That doesn't just mean not needing to get involved in international affairs and bringing troops home. It also means inevitable loss in economic power and growth (even if you remain involved in the global economy), it means a loss of authority that would cause a vaccuum. Someone would have to become the new hegemon. Now we don't get to choose, but for the sake of discussion let me ask who you would want that to be? The strongest contender is probably China, but India and Japan have a shot at it if they tackled a few problems. Brazil is in a decent position too, as is the entirety of the European Union if they centralized. But who would even come close to serving American interest if they took over when we stepped down?