A New Direction for America
America has a new president. While many are happy or simply relieved to see President Trump leave, what is Joe Biden’s vision for America and the world? More specifically, what is President Biden’s opinion on America’s role in the world? In the near future, the coronavirus remains our number one threat and ending the pandemic must be Biden’s top priority. Personally, I believe the pandemic has been so terrible not because of individual “anti-maskers”, but the complete abdication of responsibility and lack of planning from the previous administration. Now that the pandemic has spread through a country that had no coordinated response or leadership to combat it, all we can do now is improve our response and vaccinate the public. Yet putting the pandemic aside, the many long-term challenges facing the US are potentially just as threatening. However, President Biden subscribes to an outdated perception of American exceptionalism that will ultimately harm the country in the long run.
In Biden’s inaugural address, he mentions the coronavirus, racial inequality, and climate change as urgent and pressing problems. Compared to our last president, who either ignored or denied the legitimacy of those problems, this is a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, Biden frames overcoming these challenges as making America “once again, the leading force for good in the world.” In light of our utter failure to contain the coronavirus, as well as the riot at the Capitol on January 6th, I find it extremely worrying that Biden can frame America as a “leader” in any way. America lags far behind much of the world when it comes to education, health care, and infrastructure. While we used to be proud of our political system, it increasingly leads to nothing but polarization, gridlock, and violence. Having just two viable political parties leads to widespread discontent and frustration.
Further, although the United States’ economy is still the largest in the world, it does not result in prosperity for many of its people. Inequality has skyrocketed. Millions face hunger or eviction. Our economic system is dominated by oligarchies in banking, technology, social media, and aviation, just to name a few. The fragility of this system was exposed in the early days of the pandemic: most Americans don’t have enough money (or cannot save enough) to live without working. This instability goes all the way up to the largest corporations who begged for bailouts almost immediately. America’s fragile and weakening political and economic systems would not be envied by any foreign person. So why do we continue to pretend that they are?
To some extent, patriotic rhetoric is inevitable coming from a president, especially in an inauguration speech. However, the United States would be far more strategic and forward-thinking if we accepted that we cannot police the world. The aging structure of the “international system” begs for revision, if not wholesale reimagining. The foundational trans-Atlantic alliance at the heart of that system is deeply damaged and may never be the same. It is far more common for countries around the world to see the US as an aggressive or neo-imperialist power than as a defender of democracy or justice. President Biden wants to “repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.” Even though this is the right goal, the status quo is increasingly untenable.
Top policymakers in US institutions must prepare for tomorrow’s international system. If we do nothing or continue to pretend that the US leads the world, the system will degrade, and semi-formal spheres of influence will emerge. On a global scale, the US, Russia, and China will have significant spheres, with perhaps a second tier consisting of India, Japan, Germany, or Brazil. This kind of system would not be all bad, but it would result in far less capacity to address transnational or multinational issues such as climate change, refugee flows, natural disasters, or even future pandemics. Trade would also be harder and political instability more likely. Designing 21st-century institutions with true multilateral partnerships will be difficult. However, avoiding conflict should always remain the top priority, and co-operation with countries like Russia and China is necessary and desirable to create the best system possible.
A belief in “American exceptionalism” creates nothing but blind spots for policymakers, but the assumption is widespread among the political class. Electing future-focused leaders with practical ideas rather than rhetoric stuck in the past will alleviate this problem. Our current leaders in government should re-examine their assumptions and biases. Our government can and must do better for its own citizens and for the world.
