The Question of Superpower Status of the United States
Americans have just witnessed what may stand in historical perspectiveas the onset of a new era. That is, the terrorist bombing of the WorldTrade Center on September 11th. The World Wars represented for most peoplethe depth of carnage, brutality and government excess that is possible whenthe moral foundation of society is lost to the acquisition of power. Thetwentieth century brought with it a new awakening to multiculturalism astechnology enabled the conceptualization of a 'global community'. Thetwenty-first century may well prove an era of change in power, especiallyin the sense of the United States as sole 'superpower'. Richard Ned Lebow has said, "Power is defined as capability relativeto other states" (1994, p. 249). The collapse of the Soviet Union is saidto have been the deciding factor in America' ascension to sole 'superpower'status. The problem with being 'at the head of the pack' is that a balancemust be maintained between the use of such power for responsible leadershipand the misuse in the interests of exploitation and, or, expansion(Lipsett, 1998). Balance is also the key word in considering the militarybuildup as opposed to the economic consequences of military spendin
A decline in status asa result of a lessening of political accountability could be said to havesignificantly influenced the change. The situation was much different in the2003 invasion of Iraq by President George W. It is the politicalequivalent of the idiom, "we don't care, we don't have to". There are too many domestic problemsand a general decrease in public opinion in both the United States andthroughout the world for such a distinction to continue. Rather than'superpower', the United States is headed toward the epigraph of'schoolyard bully'. "Organized labor is also declining, and what is dynamic and significanttoday is the new balance between corporations and government" (Tyson andAdonis, 1993, p. The Walrasian model of perfectly competitive general equilibriumstates that power is a political, not an economic, phenomenon (Elliott,1993). The future of America's power status is dependent on "American powerand prestige (inevitably a relative matter), per capita wealth (an absolutematter mostly, but with a psychological component that involvestransnational comparisons), security and stability as defined by theabsence of wars and threats, and the progress of American values such asglobal democratization, human rights, and the market economy" (Harkavy,1997, p. The Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 was essentially a war overresources. military spending for 2004 at about $390 billion, rising to$400 billion in 2005. There is no reason to doubt that the current Iraqi war is notalso based on this reasoning, although justified in the media as a 'war onterror'.
Common topics in this essay:
Glyn Harrison,
United States',
Middle Ages,
Jayantha Dhanapala,
Soviet Union,
Economic Analysis,
Gulf War,
President Congress,
Tyson Adonis,
War II,
elliott 1993,
military spending,
internet source,
lipsett 1998,
gulf war,
status superpower,
cited elliott 1993,
persian gulf war,
persian gulf,
cited elliott,
2003 internet source,
superpower united,
deen 2003 internet,
invasion iraq,
elliott 1993 510,
|
Acceptance Essays
