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

TheRiseandRetreatoftheNewWorldOrder 27 I

likeNAFTAandglobalinstitutionsliketheWorldTradeOrganization
wouldbecentraltothispolicy.Inthe1990SHamiltonianssoughtto
seizethehourandattemptedtoachievesomethingthatAmericanstates-
menhadwantedsinceJohnAdamsdrafteda modeltreatytoguidethe
diplomatsoftheinfantAmericanrepublic:a worldwidetradesystem
basedonenforceableguarantees,givingAmericanproductsequalaccess
intoallthemajormarketsoftheworld.'
Thisambitiousandstirringtradeagenda,datingbacktotheReagan
administration,andconsistentlybackedbyboththeBush(Senior)and
theClintonadministration,dulyandregularlyendorsedbytheover-
whelmingmajority ofeconomic experts,took enormous strides and
madesignificantinstitutionalgainsduringthe1990S.NAFTAandthe
WTOcameintobeing.AsummitofLatinAmericanheads ofstate
endorsedtheconceptoftheFreeTradeAreaoftheAmericas(FTAA).
Countryaftercountryacrossthedevelopingworldopeneditsfinancial
systemto international competition, and internationalcapital flows
achievedunprecedentedvolumesandflexibility,whileincreasesinworld
tradecontinuedtodrivegrowthinrichandpoorcountriesalike.
Inthemidstofthisgeneral,worldwideflowering,theUnitedStates,
as Hamiltonianshadbothassumedandpredicted,flourishedasnever
before.Asa globaltradingnation,theUnitedStateswasuniquelyposi-
tionedtobenefitfromliberalizationandgrowthineveryquarterofthe
world. AsAsia,LatinAmerica,andEuropeembracedmarket-opening
measures,Americanindustriesandstatesreceivedimportantnewstim-
uli.TheextraordinarilyflexiblecapitalmarketsoftheUnitedStates,
combinedwithitsentrepreneurialculture,itseducatedworkforce,its
continentalmarkets, anditsadvancedinfrastructure,allowedAmeri-
can entrepreneursandbusinessquicklytoidentify,and exploit,new
opportunities.
Thesuccesses ofHamiltoniantradeanddevelopmentpolicy dur-
ingthe1990Sdidnot,however,succeedinwinningwidespreadpopu-
larityfortheHamiltonianagenda.Indeed,insidetheUnitedStatesthat
agendagraduallyloststeamduringthedecade.OntheLeft,laborunions,
environmentalists,andothercivilsocietygroupsblamedtheHamilton-
iantradestrategyforeverythingfromfallingwagesintheUnitedStates
topoorlaborandenvironmentalstandardsabroad.OntheRight,conser-
vativegroups,withsupportinCongress,denouncedthetradeagendaas
a moralselloutofAmericanprinciplestocountrieslikeChinaand,in
termsonceheardonlyontheLeft,asanattackonthelivingstandardsof