The salvation of liberty
A liberal history professor once told me that the United States of America was bound to eventually collapse as a major world power. His thesis was that all major powers disintegrated sooner or later, because nothing lasts forever. His study of history convinced him that this was true, even for the United States, because America, he naively maintained, was essentially no different from the Holy Roman Empire, or any other “empire”, for that matter.
The professor could not see that the United States is fundamentally different from virtually every other world power. It is not an empire. America was the first country in history to be founded upon the ideals and principles of maximum economic and political liberty. Freedom has made all the difference in the world.
America is probably the only country in the world where racial ethnicity is not bound up with notions of nationality. In Korea, a Korean person is a Korean citizen. In Japan, a Japanese person is a Japanese citizen. In America, people from every racial and ethnic background are considered Americans.
America has the most liberal immigration policies in the world. Diverse people from all over the world are welcome in America. In the United States, the talents of Indians, Japanese, Germans and many other nationalities around the world are put to good use in business, government, the arts, and so forth.
America is a country open to new people and new ideas. America has never closed itself to the outside world. Unlike North Korea and other closed systems, the United States has never closed itself to free trade.
History has clearly shown that closed nations do not prosper or long endure. In the 19th Century, mainland China was dominated by the British and other Western powers because it had isolated itself for centuries.
Make no mistake: So long as it remains open, America will continue to thrive and prosper in the 21st Century and beyond. The free flow of people, ideas, and technologies across borders will sustain America’s greatness.
The countries that continue to severely restrict labor and immigration, and that continue to practice trade protectionism and the censorship of ideas, will falter and eventually collapse.
Japan’s current economic malaise is due in no small part to its closed trading and social system. For years, ever since its Meiji Restoration in the 1860s, Japan has sought to micro-manage its culture and identity–to borrow the best ideas, technologies and practices of the West while still retaining a tight hold over its cultural identity.
Japan should soon find that many of its cultural business practices, which were highly successful during the industrial age, are becoming increasingly detrimental in the face of the 21st Century’s information-oriented global economy, where innovation is king and rapid change is constant.
As long as its leaders adhere to liberty, the American economy should lead the world’s growth for many, many more years to come.
