America, the evil empire? As an American living in Europe, often when roaming the streets meeting people (they detect my accent), you often get into political discussions about what America is doing or not doing in the world. As if I have anything to do with it. Often immediately they will bring up all the bad things America is doing – their list is often long.
This happened to me once again this past weekend. Coming from a still young able-bodied immigrant of Africa (now in Europe for over 20 years), who does not have a job (don’t think he is even looking), living on government assistance, free 100% medical, subsidized housing, you might think they would be a bit more appreciative of the Western world, while sipping his latte in the cafe at the port of Toulon watching the birds and the boats go out to Corisca. The conversation ends in a statement that, America is the great evil in the world reeking havoc on the world’s population. He told me that he hopes that the great Satanic world superpower will end one day. Not wanting to start WWIII, I just tell them, I understand your feelings.
Yes, America is the sole superpower in the world today. Pax Americana (Latin for “American Peace”) is a term applied to the historical concept of relative peace in the Western Hemisphere and later the Western world resulting from the preponderance of power enjoyed by the United States beginning around the start of the 20th century. As the world’s sole superpower, America arguably gets all the blame for the evils in the world, but at the same should they also not get the credit for the good things?
So, is America an evil empire reeking havoc on the world? Let’s examine the world a bit over the last 50ish years under Pax Americana – check out these historical charts:
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[li]Life expectancies have nearly doubled – click here. Healthcare services is on the rise.
[/li][li]Standard of livings are on the rise – click here. World poverty rates have plummeted – click here. The UN millennial target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.
[/li][li]There is more freedom in the world today, as democracy is on the rise – click here. For women, minorities and other groups, it has been slow, but clearly getting better as well.
[/li][li]Believe it or not war is on the decline. The number of conflicts has declined – click here. And the number of political deaths has also declined – click here.
[/li][li]Lastly, is the American population wanting to be on the prowl, seeking to intervene in every other country? Click here – and you can see that America is increasingly wishing to be isolationist.
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I think people when judging America need to consider these long term trends – it does not look that evil to me, though everyone’s personal situation is different and many fall into the cracks. It also should be noted that though America is leading, many other countries in the alliance are also contributing greatly – both in the developed and emerging economies. America is slowly becoming less and less dominate, as the pie is expanding. One must also not be naive, you can not hide in the world. There will always be one leading country or set of countries – pick your poison.
That being said, in the last 10 years there have been some disturbing short term trends in America, and for sure there are many issues to be dealt with – nothing is perfect. But we need to be reminded, love America or hate America, the data points presented in this Blog can always go in the other direction. Those wishing for America to go away, be careful for what you wish for, you might get it one day. Is there another country in the world, with enough influence, that could improve on these data points?
Well, the London trading session is finished, I wonder if my African friend has woken yet to meet down at the port to have a latte, and give me my weekly dose of anti-Americanism. He thinks I am CIA, who else would be sitting in an office all day, in an old medieval town along the mediterranean, with all these computers and screens, watching the world go by?
Blue Point Trading, William Thompson