fukuyama on the decline of the American brand
I found this article by Francis Fukuyama to be a very worthwhile read on the subject of the current financial crisis and it’s implications for US politics at home and abroad.
It’s written with a clear-eyed understanding of modern US history, and in particular highlights the twin sources of damage to the American ‘brand’ abroad represented by the apparent collapse of the laissez-faire approach to the financial system and the mistakes of post September 11 foreign policy. It also addresses the domestic political trends which have led to the present situation, whereby both Republicans and Democrats had bought in to a similar view on the need to regulate particular parts of the economy.
Fukuyama argues that there is a real prospect that America’s ability to project power, be it military power or ‘soft’ power, will be severely diminished, and that this may have long term implications for the promotion of liberal democracy around the world.
Thanks. Dad and I were discussing this last night and both agreed that we needed to find more info.
You have to be fairly cynical about Fukuyama, in that he is a reformed free-marketeer.
On the other hand, there is something inherently respectable about someone who is prepared to change their mind (so long as they don’t deny their former views).
– Keynes