What Next Awaits the U.S. Economy?

The world has stumbled into one of its most chaotic economic and political phases in recent memory. Whoever said that the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the “end of history”’ (actually, it was Francis Fukuyama) had a proverbial another thing coming. Uncertainty rules.

In this context of uncertainty, trying to lead a less-committed, if enlarged, NATO, the United States has not let go of its “Manifest Destiny.” That could prove fatal for the U.S. economy, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s overall foreign policy shift.

Whereas this destiny was challenged only by the defunct Soviet Union, other players have emerged. They want to demonstrate that the U.S. does not rule the world. Russia is one of these, but it has hardly been the most hostile. In fact, if the U.S. leadership wasn’t so lost in trying to grasp so many power-and-influence straws, it would find an ally in Moscow.

Rather than having fewer military bases after the Cold War, the United States has had more of them, spread much wider. The country has about 800 bases outside of territorial U.S. (or more than 1,000 if one includes embassies and missions with U.S. troops stationed there), literally covering all corners of the world. It may soon have bases in space.

Thus, military power remains the preeminent tool that America uses to project its authority. Whether you like or dislike the current resident of the White House, Donald Trump remains an untried president who likes to threaten perceived enemies such as Iran and North Korea—and others, if more subtly—for fickle reasons.

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Trump Is Taking Big Risks

In many ways, Trump is doing the opposite of what he promised, betraying those who voted for him, hoping for a more isolationist United States policy.

Instead of showing far less concern for Tehran than for New York City, New Orleans, or Atlanta, Trump wants to go as far as changing the rules that govern the engagement of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The idea of using nuclear weapons against certain targets has been discussed. No longer are nuclear weapons considered tools of last resort or deterrents against anyone scheming to use its own atomic warheads. (Source: “New Trump policy could strengthen role of nuclear weapons”, CNBC, January 12, 2018.)

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