36 SPECIALPROVIDENCEcanforeignpulicyis,however,morelikea kaleidoscope,whoseimages,
patterns,andcolorsalterrapidlyandapparentlyatrandom.Theassump-
tionsofContinentalrealismcannotyielda coherentviewofeitherthe
strengthsortheweaknessesoftheAmericanmethodofforeignpolicy.
Theresult,aswehaveseen,islessa coherentandthoughtfulcritique
thana heartfeltbutincoherentanduncomprehendingrejection,some-
thingmoreliketheresponseofconventionallytrainedcriticsofrealist
arttotheearlyImpressioniststhana soberassessmentoftheAmerican
wayofpower.
Thereare three principalareas inwhich the differences between
theAmericanandContinentalcontextsblockContinentallyoriented
observersfromfullyunderstandingtheAmericanapproach.
First,thereistheproblemofeconomics.ForstatesmenlikeMetter-
nichandBismarck,andthoseintheirtradition,politicsiseverythingin
foreignpolicy;economics is,atbest,anafterthought.In theAnglo-
Americantraditioneconomicissuesarevital:Itiseconomicsuccessthat
createsthefinancialbasisfornationalpower.Continentalpowersdueled
overEuropelikescorpionsina bottle;theBritishandtheAmericans
tookadvantageofthiscontinentalpreoccupationtobuildtheinterna-
tionaleconomicpowerthatbroughtbothoftheEnglish-speakingpow-
erstoglobalhegemony.
Thiswas,ofcourse,inpartduetoluckandnotskill.Britainhadthe
Channel,andtheUnitedStateshadtheAtlantic;bothofthesepowers
wereoutsidethebottlewiththeotherscorpionsandsoenjoyedthefree-
domtothinkaboutotherthings.Nevertheless,thatfreedomgaveBrit-
ishandAmericanstrategicthoughta differentcastfromContinental
approaches, and without understanding the special character ofthe
Anglo-American synthesisoftheeconomic andpoliticalelementsof
internationalpowerpolitics,itisnotpossibletounderstandwhatBritish
orAmericanforeignpolicyisallabout.
LaterI willlookmorecarefullyattheintellectualstructureofwhat
couldbecalledAmericanrealismincontrasttotheContinentalvariety,
butonepointneedstoberaisedhere.FormostofAmericanhistorythe
immediateobjectsofforeignpolicyhavebeeneconomicquestions.From
a Continentalistperspective,worryingabouttariffs,monetarycoordina-
tion,andtradingrightshardlylookslikeforeignpolicyatall."Idon't
giveashitaboutthevalueofthelira!"theContinentalistNixonsaidto
hisstaff. 18
ForContinentalists,economicpolicyis notthehighandchallenging