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

322 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

theStateDepartmentwouldgettopromotecivilsociety;providetechni-
calassistancetoaspiringdemocracies;condemnsome,thoughnotall,
foreign evildoers;andengineertheoccasionalhumanitarianinterven-
tionsand wars.Jeffersonians woulddeclassifyCivil Wardocuments;
harassthemilitaryestablishment;andslow,ifnothalt,suchdevelop-
mentsasthecontinuedexpansionofNATO.Jacksonianswouldbuilda
defensivemissilesystemwhetheritmadesenseornot,blocktheratifica-
tionofgoody-two-shoestreatiesbroughtinbyWilsoniansecretariesof
state,andyankthepursestringswhenHamiltoniansshowedsignsof
excessive generosity to international financial institutions or when
Wilsonianspressedtoohardforinterventioninsomegodforsakenhell-
holefarfromthebeatentrackofobviousAmericansecurityinterests.
Thesystemwouldmoreorlesswork;unhappinesswouldbemoreor
lessevenly distributedacrossthepoliticalspectrum,and mostofthe
peoplewouldbeatleastsomewhatsatisfiedmostofthetimewithmost
ofthepolicyoutcomesonmostoftheissuestheycaredmostabout.The
carwouldcoastalongslowlyasfarasitcould.
TosomedegreethiswillhappenwhetherornottheUnitedStates
developsaneffectiveforeignpolicyconsensusforthefuture.Aconsensus
strategyis nevermonolithic; therewerebitterdisputesoverAmeri-
canforeignpolicyduringboththeColdWarandWorldWarII.Demo-
craticpoliticalsystemsadjudicateissuesonthebasisofcompromiseand
accommodation,lubricatinganyunpleasantfrictionwithgenerousappli-
cationsofpork;thattendencywon'tandshouldn'tdisappear.Butneither
willit,byitself,beenoughforeffectiveforeignpolicy.TheUnitedStates
willbeexpectedtoprovidevigorous,farsightedleadership;ourcontin-
uedpowerandsecuritywilldependinverylargemeasureonthewisdom,
courage,andresolutionthatthecountryshowsinbothchoosingand
pursuing itsgoals.Asinthe 1920Sand1930Stheworldneedsmore
effective,thoughtful,andcommittedAmericanleadershipthanitseems
likelytoget;asinthoseyearstheproblemislessthatAmericansareiso-
latedfromtherestoftheworldthanthatourengagementis incoherent,
contradictory,andultimatelylesseffectivethanitneedstobe.

TheGyroscopeofWorldOrder

Inordertorebuildaneffectivestrategicconsensusamongthefour

schools,wemusttakethestepthattheoriginalColdWarriorsdecidedto

skip.Wemusttakeontheoldmythofvirtuousisolationburiedbeneath