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

214 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

enforceconformitywithgoodprinciplesontheweakermembersofsoci-
ety.Theyseethestateas,theappropriateentitytoenforceGod'slaw.
Late-twentieth-century American society appeared to be moving
fromaPuritanandWilsonianeraintoa libertarianandJeffersonian
period.Thelate1960sbegana periodinwhichtheAmericanpeople
weremovingfrom assertingtheimportanceofsocialandsexualcon-
formitytoassertingtheirrighttoliveintheirownwaywithoutpermis-
sionorrestraintfromauthorityofanykind.
WhileAmericanpoliticsis a big,muddyriverwithmanyeddiesand
countercurrents,itappearsthatonthewholesocietycontinuestomove
awayfromsupportinggovernmenteffortstocontrolpersonalchoicesand
behaviors.Thebestmarkermightbethewarondrugs,perhapsthemost
sustainedeffortofourtimesbygovernmentatalllevelstoregulateper-
sonalbehavior.Intheclosingyearsofthe1990Saninterestingbacklash
appearedtobedevelopingagainsteffortstocontroldrugsby blanket
prohibitions,longsentences,andenforcementtacticsthatinfringedclas-
sicJeffersonianconceptsofcivil liberties.Therisingpopularityofa
familyofapproachesknownas"harmreduction"asalternativestothe
warondrugsshowJeffersonianideasonceagainatwork.Theprospect
thatAmericanmoneyand,worse,troopsmightfindthemselvesassoci-
ated withdubiousparamilitary organizations ina twilightstruggle
againstdrugdealersandtheirguerrillaalliesisa classicnightmarefor
Jeffersonians.Thepotentialimpactonthemoraleandeventhemorality
ofAmericanarmedforcesofprolongedinvolvementinmessy,brutal,and
inevitablycorruptdruginterdictionsmixedwithcivilwars inforeign
countriesmakesJeffersoniansshudder,EffortstochangeUnitedStates
domesticpolicytoavoidthedangersofa shootingwarondrugsabroad
reflectthedeepestJeffersonianstrategicandpoliticalvalues.
Inanycase,therecoveryfromitsmidcenturyeclipseoftheJefferson-
ianapproach,bolsteredbya revivedinterestinlibertarianeconomicsand
decentralizedgovernment,nowseemswellpositionedtocontinue.

TheStrengthsandWeaknessesoftheJeffersonianTradition

Liketheotherschoolswehaveexamined,theJeffersonianapproachto

foreignpolicyhasbothadvantagesanddisadvantages.Attimes,asinthe

years1939-41,JeffersonianideaswouldhaveledtheUnitedStatesinto

a majordisaster.Atothertimes,asinthelong periodduringwhichthe

Monroe systemgave a basic strategicdirection toAmericanforeign