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

68 SPECIALPROViDENCE

GiventhatboththeDepressionandWorldWarIIfurtherdisrupted
thefabricofinternationaltradeandinvestmentalreadybadlydamaged
byWorldWarI, theearlyyearsoftheColdWarsawtheeconomicinter-
dependenceoftheUnitedStateswiththerestoftheworldsinktoits
lowestpoint.
Ithas nowbeenmorethana centurysincetheUnitedStatesfaced
whatwasoncea commonfeatureofeconomiclife:a deepanddestructive
recessioncausedbyhighinterestrates demandedbyexactingforeign
creditors.AlthoughAmericanshavebecomemoreawareoftheinfluence
oftheinternationaleconomyontheirownprosperitythantheywere
between 1945 andtheeconomicfirestormsoftheearlyI970s,westilldo
not follow the news onforeign markets with thesense ofhelpless
dependencythatourancestorsoftenknew.OnlyOPEC'sabilitytodis-
rupttheAmericaneconomythroughoil-priceshockstodaygivesusa
faintsenseoftheoverwhelming,frustrating,andapparentlyarbitrary
powerthatforeignersonce hadoverthelivingstandardsofordinary
Americans.
FinancialindependencechangedthewayAmericansthoughtabout
foreign policy. As the foreigndimensionofeconomic policydebates
diminishedinthetwentiethcentury,sotoodidbroadpublicunder-
standingofAmericans'formerdependenceontheconditionsofinterna-
tionalmarkets.Asthisunderstandingwas lost,foreignpolicybecame
disconnectedfromimportantdomesticpoliticalbattlesinthepresent,
butalsoimaginativelyinthepast.EducatedopinionrememberedBryan's
declamationagainstcrucifixionona "crossofgold"butforgothislink-
ageoftheissuetothepowerofBritainandthequestionofAmerica's
policytowardit.
Foreigncompetitionaswellasforeigncreditorslargelydisappeared
afterWorldWarII.DuringmostoftheColdWartheUnitedStates
facednoseriouseconomiccompetitors,muchlesstruerivals,anywhere
intheworld.GermanyandJapanlayinruins;Britain'sonce-mighty
empirewasgone;andunlikeothergreat-powerrivals inthepast,the
SovietUnionneverposedaninternationalcommercialorfinancialchal-
lenge. Until the 197os,whenGermanandespeciallyJapanese tech-
nologythreatened tochallengethe Americanleadinkeyindustries,
Americancorporationswerebettermanaged,bettercapitalized,andbet-
terequippedthanalmostall theirrivals.Theoldeconomicorder, in
whicha largenumberofleadingeconomiesofroughlyequivalentsize
andtechnologicalsophisticationcompetedinmarketsaroundtheworld,
seemedlostforever.