Nearly two weeks after we talked about it during the Socratic seminar, Thomas Friedman discusses Why Nation's Fail in this article from today's New York Times.
The article used a lot of academic diction but I am pretty sure, to sum it up, that the article is pretty much making the case of what is right and what is easy. It seems to say that the right way to govern is to invest in your own nation and to promote industrial creativity from within your own borders which in turn will create a more efficient economy and stronger government in the long run. This method is difficult and does not yield the instant reward that investing in foreign powers and foreign industry through means of strong profit. The profit created in the short term is paid by enforcing governments/institutions that may treat their citizens unfairly and potentially building up an arsenal to conquer the country its being supported by should a disaster strike. This article then points lays out the question. Are we as a nation going to turn our ways and invest in ourselves and slowly regenerate our power through industry and invention? Or are we going to live the high life supported by unchecked spending for a few years (in terms of how nations have historically stood) and be conquered by a power and become pawns to that nation? So what will our nation's choice be? The easy road or the morally right road?
The article used a lot of academic diction but I am pretty sure, to sum it up, that the article is pretty much making the case of what is right and what is easy. It seems to say that the right way to govern is to invest in your own nation and to promote industrial creativity from within your own borders which in turn will create a more efficient economy and stronger government in the long run. This method is difficult and does not yield the instant reward that investing in foreign powers and foreign industry through means of strong profit. The profit created in the short term is paid by enforcing governments/institutions that may treat their citizens unfairly and potentially building up an arsenal to conquer the country its being supported by should a disaster strike. This article then points lays out the question. Are we as a nation going to turn our ways and invest in ourselves and slowly regenerate our power through industry and invention? Or are we going to live the high life supported by unchecked spending for a few years (in terms of how nations have historically stood) and be conquered by a power and become pawns to that nation? So what will our nation's choice be? The easy road or the morally right road?
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/pbDeS_mXMnM
ReplyDeleteA little more information on China and their growth.