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In this very interesting book, the author tackles the perception by most Americans and foreigners that the US will soon no longer be the most powerful leader in the world. He urges that there is no time to waste, and we need to act with confidence and not withdraw from international leadership.
There are compelling reasons why the US should be able to hold our position as the most powerful nation. We have the largest and strongest military presence, and have honed and tested our high-tech weaponry in the trillion dollar conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US dollar is the international currency which gives us an economic advantage. At some point in the near future it may be replaced by the Chinese reminbi or EU euro. However, there is room for more than one global currency and the US will still be well positioned.
We police and patrol the world wide shipping lanes which enable international trade and the export and import of most of the oil and gasoline. We also protect against piracy.
Another strength is our allies and the cooperation we've established. Most of the big players are our allies, and even the countries that are not, have common economic interests.
We took the lead in preventing a world wide financial collapse in the last few years. We've had some success in fighting terrorism.
The author likens the world stage to a chess game. But instead of only two players, there are many emerging giants making moves.
All in all, Still Ours to Lead: America, Rising Powers, and the Tension between Rivalry and Restraint was an excellent look into why we can continue to lead, and the difficult balance using restraint and cooperation. There were a couple of issues that bothered me, though. First, was the glossing over of our debt problem, the cost of servicing that debt, and the expense of entitlement problems. The author explains that the US has been in worse debt before, at the end of World War II, and overcame that. He seems to think we can do it again, but gave no particulars.
The other thing that bothered me, and may worry other Americans is the fact that the US has one of the most sophisticated intelligent systems. But can we trust ours? I was convinced that we should risk our warfighters' lives in Iraq because of the evidence of weapons of mass destruction. We lost thousands of soldiers and mortgaged the future of the next generation on what turned out to be false information. Whether the cost was worth all the sacrifice remains to be seen.
I hope many others will read about these very important problems and issues. It made me more optimistic for our future as a world leader.
- Paperback: 263 pages
- Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (March 17, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0815725973
- ISBN-13: 978-0815725978
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 8 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#2,587,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15741 in U.S. Political Science
- #4961 in National & International Security (Books)
- #4282 in Globalization & Politics
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