Bacevich and the Limits of Power

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Table of Contents

Introduction
US global power is unsustainable in the 21st century
The US being an expansionist, imperial power
How the quest for abundance has come to dominate US foreign policy
The US as an empire in decline
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Bacevich is a professor of international relations in the University of Boston. He served in the US army. His ideologies are termed as catholic conservative (Bacevich 5). In his book limits of power, he talks about the US culture and its effects on the US economy. This paper will discuss his ideologies as explained in his book The Limits of Power.

US global power is unsustainable in the 21st century

Bacevich argues that the US needs to evaluate its national policies to maintain its economical position in the world. He views US global power as one that is unsustainable in this century (Bacevich 19). The US needs to change its national and foreign policies to meet the changing economical trends in the world. The American culture of abundance aims at satisfying people’s needs. This has led to people living beyond their means leading to overspending and low savings for both the US government and citizens (Chalmers 20).

The US government has also been pushed to have trade deficits and high levels of borrowing to allow the country to maintain its current economic position. In attempts to live a life of abundance, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened (Bacevich 139). As such, economic imbalances have extremely gone high in the US. Bacevich also states that democracy in the US has been highly compromised due to economic inequality.

Overspending and less saving has led to high levels of debts for the US government. He argues that the Vietnam War by the US in 1960’s to 1970’s was unnecessary (Bacevich 19). He points out that the government spent a lot of money to fund the war, which did not raise government’s income. Instead, the war led to economic instability in the US causing inflation.

He argues that a country that was once world’s largest lender has moved to be the world’s largest debtor. The US government obtains most of its products including oil and petroleum products from other countries (Bacevich 132). Regardless of this, the US has not been able to raise its taxes to cover the high levels of expenditure. It has high imports and less exports resulting in trade deficits (Gutfe 30).

The US being an expansionist, imperial power

Bacevich argues that the US did not change its foreign policy after the cold war but it remained focused on efforts to expand its control in other countries across the world (Bacevich 130). For many years, the US government has been able to maintain economical, cultural, and military influence over other countries.

The US has expanded through influencing other countries with its ideas and policies. The US government is one that seeks power by gaining control over different states. A good example is the Afghanistan war, which the US has been fighting over the years (Brigham 19). In the name of establishing a stable government in Afghanistan, the US grabbed the chance to push for its policies and interests.

The US has used its influence to expand and gain freedom for its citizens. The freedom focuses on material possession and “a life of plenty” (Bacevich 123). The American definition of freedom is a lifestyle that allows individuals to consume more than they can produce (DeMint 122).

As a result, the life of plenty and abundance has led to dependency in the US. The US depends on other countries for its survival; it relies on imported products to meet the desires of its population (Brigham 19). Consumerism among the US citizens has developed to debts in the country and in foreign countries. The US has expanded its control in efforts to gain prosperity and control over major global systems for its own interests (DeMint 150).

Historically, the US became a land of plenty with overwhelming levels of material possession and control. However, out of plenty came the spirit of consumerism. The US was turned to a land of dreams since most people were able to move up the social ladder with ease (Bacevich 132). Many people were able to get into middle class moving from poverty because of the ability of the US to expand and acquire material wealth. Today, the US is not able to continue with its imperialistic ideas that are outdated (DeMint 150).

How the quest for abundance has come to dominate US foreign policy

In 1979, the US faced a major oil shortage (WGBH). Talking about the issue, Jimmy Carter pointed out that the US had moved from a state of high production, high moral values, and socialism to a state of high consumption, individualism, and moral decay (WGBH). According to him, the US had put more emphasis on material possession than anything else had. He looked at the energy crisis as a turning point to the Americans, but his speech was not received well by the citizens and executives (WGBH).

Carter urged people to redefine freedom, he asked people to think about what real freedom is. He argued that freedom should be broad than just material accumulation and consumption (Bacevich 130).

The speech was not positive since it did not support the American culture of expansion and consumption. It offered a solution of the problem that the US was facing. Carter said that, for Americans to have freedom they need to start living within their means (Waldman 90).

Bacevich looks at how American people reacted towards the speech. He points out that Americans reacted with fury and blamed the White house for the problems that the country was facing (Bacevich 100). They felt that Jimmy wanted to bring his ideas of confession and redemption to them instead of meeting their needs.

The American culture of abundance and consumption made people feel that living within individual means will deny them the right to be happy. Americans have developed an addiction to a life of abundance hence all foreign policies target at expansion to obtain products cheaply (Chalmers 20).

Bacevich observes that, the quest for cheap oil has pushed the US to engage in unnecessary wars. He argues that the attack on Iraq by the US was unnecessary. As a result, the US has spent a lot of money that could be used to conduct research on other sources of energy (Boren and Edward 116). Other sources of energy will be able to eliminate dependency on oil in the US. Today, the US dependents on oil as source of energy yet it does not produce oil causing energy crisis. The government needs to identify means to make the country energy dependent (DeMint 150).

Bacevich continues to say that Americans are not ready to change from their culture because they are addicted to a life of abundance. People do not care what has to be done to meet their desires and to provide them with a life plenty (Kalaidjian 56). He points out that the US has to change the way its citizens define freedom and allow them to take responsibility for the kind of life that they lead (DeMint 150).

The US as an empire in decline

Economic and Cultural Crisis

It is evident that the US culture emphasizes on material accumulation and self-indulgence. People spend more than what they can afford leading to large amounts of debts (Gutfe 30). The US is not able to facilitate the extravagant lifestyle of its citizens. Because of that, the country that was once a global super power is facing an economic crisis (Boren and Edward 122). The US depends on imperialism and expansion to satisfy the quest of abundance that the citizens have.

Americans want to have access to products such as energy, and credit that needs global power. For these reasons, the US has spent more than it is able to produce leading to more debts on the country (Gutfe 30). The Americans are not able to sustain their needs and demands. In addition, the US has engaged in wars without letting the US citizens to bear the responsibility (Waldman 90). Taxes have remained low but the government is still spending. The US is only consuming but it is not producing.

Military Crisis

The US has over burdened its military. The war in Iraq was described as one that would take decades to end. The US citizens are forced to engage in missions that lack timeline and specific objectives (Boren and Edward 15). The US defense system is not protecting its citizens rather it is engaged in fighting outside the country straining the economy. In addition, it has continued to create enemies all over the world because of poor relations with other countries. The US citizens do not question the foreign policies in the country (Baxter and Akbarzadeh 120). Because of unending wars, the US spends a lot of money in creating big and strong armies instead of redefining the country’s foreign policy (Boren and Edward 15). Actually, the US military activities have highly contributed to the economic crisis in the country.

Political Crisis

Bacevich argues that the US has failed and is unable to limit the powers of the country. In addition, the US has not taken responsibility for their expenditure and general way of life. The culture of indulgence and self-gratification needs to be changed for the US to gain freedom (Bacevich 99). Bacevich also points out that the rich people in America benefit from national security that allows high military and industrial expense.

People who hold power still believe that the US military is stronger than other countries. This has made it difficult for the country to end missions, which are not productive and invest in ideas that can solve the economic problems in the country. He also notes that the US has covered itself from world affairs by focusing entirely on their comfort and consumption (Held and Koenig Archibugi 210).

Bacevich concludes that the US, which was once a strong empire is in the verge of decline because the US consumes more and saves less leading to accumulation of debt. The country is not able to sustain the life of abundance that is highly valued by its citizens. High dependency on oil for energy is another thing that the US is not able to sustain because it does not produce energy internally. Thirdly, the US has used its military and resources to fight unnecessary wars that require a lot of money.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Bacevich argues that the US needs to change its foreign policies. The foreign policies need to include regulation of what and how much the US imports from other countries. It also needs to reconsider the involvement of the country with other states to avoid misuse of resources on unnecessary wars and efforts with no clear objectives and outcome. He also adds that, the US needs to move from a rule of consumption to production to ensure its own sustainability (Held and Koenig Archibugi 210).

I fully agree with Bacevich’s ideas about change. There is need to change national and foreign policies because the crisis that the US is currently facing is self-inflicting and can only be solved by change of policies (Bacevich 22).

Works Cited

Bacevich, Andrew. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2009.

Baxter Kylie, Akbarzadeh Shahram. US Foreign Policy in The Middle East: The Roots of Anti-Americanism. London: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Boren, David and Edward Perkins. Preparing America’s Foreign Policy for The 21st Century. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. Print.

Brigham, Robert. Iraq, Vietnam, and The Limits of American Power. New York: Public. Affairs, 2008. Print.

Chalmers, Johnson. Blow Back: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2000.Print.

DeMint, Jim. Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America’s Slide into Socialism. New York: H & B publishing Group, 2009. Print.

Held, David and Koenig Archibugi. American Power in The 21st Century. New York: Polity, 2004. Print.

Gutfe, Arnon. American Exceptionalism: The Effects of Plenty on The American Experience. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press, 2002. Print.

Kalaidjian, Walter. The Cambridge Companion to American Modernism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.

Waldman Sidney. America and The Limits of The Politics of Selfishness. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2007. Print.

WGBH. Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” Speech. 2010. Web.

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