We are often told that we live in a more interconnected world as a result of globalization and many of us have been lulled into complacent acceptance of the status-quo. Where, however, is the balance of power in this status-quo? If as a nation we are becoming less independent, how did we get here, and should we abdicate our right to return to a time when power was more balanced and our national independence was not in jeopardy. The U.S. Revolutionary War, our war of independence, was waged because "We the People" refused to accept the balance of power which had swung in favor of the aristocracy and its monarch, King George III. Today, the ever increasing wealth gap gets much attention, yet the ever increasing power gap gets very little.
Few would argue with the assertion that that the American miracle was the result of almost 200 years of stimulating production, and our decline is the result of the last several decades of encouraging excessive consumption.
If you count yourself among the citizens that believe America is less independent, how did we get to be less independent? One would think, as a result by more bad government than good government. A contemporary of Thomas Jefferson, Jean Baptiste Say, contrasted good and bad government with the following quote:
"It is the aim of good government to stimulate production, of bad government to encourage consumption."
If America is less independent, is it primarily caused by the events of the last 3 - years or the events of the last 3 - + decades?
Since consequences and root-causes are often separated by time and space, adequate time is usually necessary for truth to develop fully and become apparent.
The title of Dr. Stephen R. Covey's most recent book, namely, The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems implies that there is a globalization alternative that moves beyond the polar-opposites of isolationism and free-trade. Such a 3rd Alternative is a balanced trade model highlighted in a November 2003 Warren E. Buffet and Carol J. Loomis Fortune magazine article, titled: America's Growing Trade Deficit Is Selling The Nation Out From Under Us., which can be found at:
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/growing.pdf .
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