That set aside, I was taking a look at a recent poll done that asked the question at hand: Is America the greatest nation on Earth? Even in spite of post-9-11 patriotism, I was surprised to see the results of the poll. A majority (53%) believe that America is one of the greatest nations, but is by no means superior. I find the question to be problematic for a couple of reasons. The first is that politics gets in the way. The Far Right is obsessed with an unwavering sense of "American exceptionalism," whereas the Far Left is hung up on blaming America for everything. The second, and by far more important reason, is that the question is so loaded that it's not even funny.
"I love my country" is an emotion. Every country has their patriots, and each country's patriots will say their respective nation is the greatest on Earth. That's the very essence of pride. However, pride is not an objective measurement of greatness. That being the case, how can we measure America's greatness? The answer is not simple simply because we would need to measure multiple factors that play a role in answering that question. Let's take a look:
- Military/Defense: America is the most technologically advanced military in the world. America's military prowess is well-known. Also, in absolute dollars, the US spends $607B (2008 figures), more than any other nation, although that is a smaller portion of our GDP than one would think. "Don't mess with the U.S." still rings true as America has the most powerful military on the planet. In terms of spending and being involved in pointless endeavors such as Afghanistan, debate on military efficacy should be an ongoing process as it would be great to see the American military spend as little as possible while being efficient in terms of accomplishing its goals.
- Economic Freedom: Co-sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, the Economic Freedom Index measures economic freedom throughout the world. Even though economic freedom has dropped during the Obama administration, America is still measured to have well-above average economic freedom.
- Economy: In spite of the recession, America has the largest GDP, and largest GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). We have a convoluted, progressive tax system that stymies economic growth. We are also dealing with a massive debt on which we are having a hard time paying back. Entitlement spending and heading towards the status of a welfare state does not help with any of this. A reversal of this trend would help ensure that America's economic growth doesn't end up like that of the European Union.
- Education: For being a developed nation that is allegedly the "greatest nation on Earth," I find the education system in this country to be mediocre at best, and at worst, a sad state of affairs if we are to lead the world in a forward direction this century. According to the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), which evaluates academic progress of fifteen-year old students worldwide, the scores of American students did not exceed those of many of the other developed nations. Even though the expenditures for K-12 schools have more than tripled (inflation-adjusted), SAT test scores have received moderate increases. Although this can be a much longer commentary, bloated school budgets, teacher unionism that doesn't incentivize teachers to improve their teaching methods, the Department of Education, and dumbing down the curriculum (both in K-12 and many undergraduate colleges) all further erode the education system in this country.
- Religious Freedom: It was the theme for my blog entry for last year's Fourth of July. I am so grateful that as a Jew, I have such ability to practice Judaism. Religious freedom is one of those impetuses that brought the colonialists to America. I am glad to see that America has done a superb job at maintaining religious freedom that has been unprecedented in the Diaspora.
- Health Care: The answer depends on whether you want to focus on equity (i.e., universal access) like the Left or overall quality like the Right does. At best, one could argue that countries have socialized health care have immediate access to certain prescriptions and other basic forms of health care. As for more complicated medical procedures, that's another story. Do you want to be waiting in line for months for a live-saving procedure like they do in Canada, or do you want to pay a bit more for quality that could mean the difference between life and death? Last time I checked, a long waiting line is not access to health care. Also, America has the greatest medical research facilities in the world, which means access to more complicated procedures. This means increased prices in health care costs, which is why America has the highest health care costs in the world (#1 in absolute dollars and #2 in terms of percentage of GDP.....East Timor is #1). Proponents of socialized health care gripe because increased costs don't lead to increased life expectancy. That would be more due to the obesity brought on by the American lifestyle than it is a statement of the quality of American health care. Even though Medicare and Medicaid dominate a good percentage of the medical industry, whatever has been untouched is still of great quality. Our health care system is by no means perfect, and there are viable solutions that don't involve aggrandizement of Big Government. However, I can guarantee that if Obamacare actually becomes law in 2014, we will be having a completely different discussion about the overall quality of American health care, one that will not be by any means flattering.
- Immigration: The United States has the largest net migration on the face of this planet. What does that indicate? There is a much larger flux of people wanting to get into the United States rather than leaving it. It would indicate that there is something wonderful about America that would cause such a flux. Even though America is great at attracting immigrants to this nation, there are improvements that can be made in our immigration policy to make it more comprehensive than "guard the borders" to account for the complexities of America's immigration situation. Canada's immigration policy would be a good model for improvement.
- Civil Liberties: Even though this country has a ways to in terms of offering civil rights to homosexuals, not to mention the Patriot Act or Real ID Act, the United States is overall sound when it comes to civil rights. As Freedom House illustrates, America has a constitutionally protected free press, a good freedom of assembly, a high level of autonomy, women's rights, and even more notably, high levels of access to economic and social advancement. In short, we have some of the best civil rights offered on this planet.
As an ardent Americo-phile I believe the greatest strength of the USA lies in its founding principles - those embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Living in the UK, a country without a Bill of Rights or a codified constitution, the overwhelming power of government is often felt. The USA, whilst still having a large government, is at least based on the ideals which many other countries could only dream of putting into action.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, the USA celebrated its 235th year of freedom from British rule. In those 235 years, the people of America have managed to create a country so powerful and so unique that it is impossible to imagine a world without it. An economic powerhouse, the world owes a lot to the USA and ought to recognise this. I, for one, as a Jew and a Briton, know of the extraordinary debt owed to you Americans for your efforts during WWII and am always indebted to you.
Happy belated Independence Day!
Yeah, in my mind "American Exceptionalism" should apply to its founding which was exceptional because the Declaration and Constitution was written in an era when Liberty was popular, before the modern march of Socialism began.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the founding of America was a unique occurrence in world history. America was based on the idea of an egalitarian, democratic society (I use those terms the way they're used in everyday vernacular, not in political theory, per se). It was supposed to be about "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" and limited government. Lamentably, that has mostly become rhetoric these days. I'm glad to see things like high scores on economic freedom indexes (as well as civil rights indexes) and our country is more tolerant than it used to be. This past election was encouraging, at least in terms of ballot initiatives. Three states legalized gay marriage, two legalized marijuana, New Hampshire blocked the implementation of the income tax, Oklahoma stopped affirmative action in its state (although that won't truly be resolved until Fisher v. Texas is ruled upon by the SCOTUS), South Dakota blocked a sales tax increase, and some states made Obamacare illegal. Nevertheless, we live in a country with issues such as crony capitalism, the War on Drugs, and increased interference in the health care markets, so it's really a mixed bag in terms of what this exceptionalism means in practice.
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