American Political and Economic History of the 20th Century

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Table of Contents

Introduction
U.S. Dominance
Work Cited

Introduction

“The U.S. has been a 20th century bully. It has constantly interfered with other nations’ politics and economies. It is like an octopus, spreading its tentacles around the globe to take advantage of weaker nations for their natural resources. Its decimation of Japan and Germany during WWII as well as its wars in Vietnam and Korea prove this point” (Baylis 92).

Many critiques of the United States make this or similar kinds of statement to insinuate that The United States is some kind of an exploitative big brother to other nations. While a part or parts of this statement maybe true, it is not in the way it is presented. Rarely will a nation behave the way it desires without some limitations. If it succeeds though, it means the mechanism or the system in place allows that to take place.

Many if not all nations would today like to be a superpower but they simply have not. The United Soviet Socialist Republic was but it is not today. The fall of its communism marked the end of its superpower regime and a global change in the running of social, political, cultural, and economic affairs. Why I do not entirely agree or disagree with the above statement is because I believe any nation acts the way it does solely to gain its national interest. This is in terms of social, political, economic and security affairs (Muller 36).

U.S. Dominance

Nations are not driven by ideals or ethics but rather their desire for economic and military power and ultimately their security and survival. The United States is no exception. Its activities are motivated by the desire to meet her national interests in every aspect of its existence. Just like it has established capitalism as the best system of governance and business in the world, it plays using these rules. In short, the best and the most innovative survive the competition (Muller 45). The United States of America has over the last century become the leading nation in four major areas listed below:

Economy
Military power
Political system
Culture

Despite the recession and the global financial crisis, the United States remains the leading economy by far in the world. The Gross Domestic product of the United States is estimated to be 13.8 trillion dollars. It is the biggest market in the world. Economic success can be attributed to it the freedom it has given to the private sector and its sheer success not just in the United States but allover the world. (Baylis et al 95)

Capitalism, in the view of the nation has been tremendously successful. There is evidence of the sheer rate of the United States economic dominance virtually throughout the world. Its multinationals are the representation of this. You will find a coca cola bottle in the Sahara desert and a Nike shoe worn by a Mongolian kid on the other side of the continent. In my opinion, the quest and desire to succeed in business is the major motivation for its activities. Just like the British Empire that declined mid last century, economic dominance and power makes a country do extraordinary things.

In terms of military dominance, the United States simply has no equals at the moment. It has three million personnel, one of the largest in the world. Its annual military expenditure is approximately fifty percent of the entire world expenditure. (D.o.D.) This is a colossal amount. Military dominance enables a nation to further its interests especially in the field of economy and security.

For instance, take the Vietnam and Korea war, the United States could not sit aside and allow things to unfold without doing anything. During the cold war, communism was a threat to the system of economy of the United States. Communist nations did not share the same ideals about private business as the United Nations (Baylis et al 101). This meant that business by American multinationals and businesspersons in communist countries was hampered. The spread of communism meant the decline of business opportunities for the United States. Surely it couldn’t watch this development as a spectator.

Communism was a direct obstacle to American prosperity. The issue of arms and military race was another development that led to wars in other countries. The United States has the desire and capability to protect itself from any corner of the earth. That is the reason why it seeks allies from the allover the world because it is in interests. North Korea chose the Soviet, the south preferred the states. All the four nations had their own interests in the conflict. For instance today South Korea and the United States are key economic partners. The Korean peninsula war was not a bully tactic employed by the United States. It is nothing personal, just business.

At the political level, the United States sells ideals but in reality does not really care if they are implemented or not if at all another nation relates well with her. The United States is seen as a major proponent of human rights and democracy though its adherence has been questioned by different quarters. In my opinion, the United States has been engaged in the robust campaign especially after the cold war to democratize nations merely because it wants them to liberalize their markets (Muller 49).

Despite its idealist overview on democracy and human rights, the United States continues to be friends with nations without democratic tendencies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This boils down to United States national interest. As long as it can maintain one of the leading oil producers and a Muslim nation too as an ally, America won’t care much for democracy.

Work Cited

Baylis, J & Smith, S & Ownes, P, The globalization of world politics, Oxford University press, USA, 2005 90-122.

Muller, Jerry Z. The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought (Anchor Books, 2003) 35-49.

United States Military spending. Web.

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American Political and Economic History of the 20th Century

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