Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

"VindicatorOnlyofHerOwn" 217

Thejeffersonianapproachtoforeignpolicyhasoneotheradvantage:
Everyvehicleshouldhaveatleastonereversegear,andjeffersonianism
oftenprovidesexactlythat.WhentheUnitedStatesneedstolowerits
internationalprofileforsomereason-as,forexample,intheimmediate
aftermathoftheVietnamdefeatinthe 197os-Jeffersonianideasand
valuesallowustoapproachtheproblemina positive,thoughtfulway.
Ratherthanrecoilingafterahumiliatingdefeat,theUnitedStateswas
recovering itstraditionalvalues,abandoningthearroganceofpower,
returningtoa moreconstitutionalapproachtoforeignpolicy,andscal-
ingbacktheimperialpresidency.Froma jeffersonianperspective,these
areallgoodthings.Wedon'tdothemsimplybecausea lossofprestige
compelsustodrawinourhorns.Ratherwedothembecausewenow
haveanopportunitytointroducesomeoverduereforms.Ifthelongflow
ofthiscenturyshouldbringaboutconditionsinwhichtheUnitedStates
cannolongerdesignandupholda worldorder,butmustadjusttothe
designsandplansofothers,itwillbethejeffersonianstraininAmerican
foreignpolicythinkingthatwillcomeforwardwithstrategiesthatallow
ustomakethebestofit,toaccommodatetochanginginternationalcon-
ditionswhileasfaraspossiblepreservingourdomesticinstitutionsand
values.