Subscribe to this blog's feedWorld AIDS day is upon us, and while reflecting on the medical and social advances that benefited those of us living in the U.S., and on the lack or cost of health care, I read an editorial written by one of my acquaintances here in the Philippines.
As my friend observed, for the last two decades America's power was based on three pillars: soft power - the attraction of the American dream of wealth and freedom; hard power - the only military machinery of worldwide reach; and cash power - the US had the largest internal market of the world everybody wanted to export to, and the Americans had a finance industry that saw to it that the rest of the world wanted to make dollar loans available, to finance the demand. All three pillars are shaking, to put it mildly.
America's soft power went almost up in smoke during the Bush-administration; the hard power has suffered substantially given Iraq and Afghanistan; and the cash power is now vanishing in the financial melt down.
My friend nailed it: the U.S. economy will no longer be the global engine that drives the world’s economy, and there will be more nationalism and/or regionalism. Nationalism and regionalism have always existed.
So what does this all have to do with universal health care?
Empires rise and fall. It isn't a reach to say that the dismal state of health care in the U.S. is but one more symptom of America's decline, where the wealth of a few is preserved at the expense of the health of so many. I fear that universal health care may remain yet one more empty election campaign promise - Washington may decide that we can print dollars to bail out the economy but can't afford to spend a few dollars to keep us healthy. Health care in America may remain a pernicious form of protectionism not unlike one region preserving itself at the expense of others.
The prognosis is guarded.
as far as the soft power you talked about, folks from other nations still want to move to american cities. they're driven to do so because of the stories they hear first hand from other people, the stuff they read, the images they see and the whole je ne sais quoi allure & diversity no other nation possesses. although imo america is overpopulated. just my 2 cents.
Your words ring of hopelessness and border on the pessimistic. What's up with that?
What a post! First, America's "soft power", as you call it, has not disappeared. The "Bush Effect" has not taken away the desire of millions upon millions around the world to want to come here to live the "American Dream". Indeed, many of them will even violate our laws to ge here and have a shot at the dream. Secondly, America's "hard power" has also not diminished. We are still far and away the strongest military power on the planet, bar none. As for financial power, we are in an economic downturn, no doubt. But it is also a world economic downturn. For the past 30 years we have been hearing about one country or another overtaking us financially and it has failed to occur. In the 60's it was the Soviet Union with the expansion of communism and the soviet military industrial complex at full tilt. Well, they spent themselves into oblivion and it never happened. In the 70's with the petro shortages in the US, it was the oil-producing arabs that would overtake us. Didn't happen. In the 80's it was the Japanese and Germans. Guess what it never happened. Now everyone is predicting the chinese. That country has huge systemic issues (both political and financial) that will prevent or significantly impair such an event. As for healthcare, I am so tiiiiiired of people demonizing the american health care system. I have great friends in both Canada and U.K. and they have assured me that their systems are no model and fraught with numerous challenges that are anything but ideal. Do we have some work to do to improve? Sure, alot of it. Is some type of state- managed Universal health care program the panacea? No, not in my mind. Last thing I want is some pinhead government worker handling my claims or deciding whether I should have access to some service or another. Yikes. A field trip to any DMV office in any state should cure most people of the idea that governments can run something as complicated as health care.
Bottomline, why be so pessimistic about one of the most diverse, ingenious and "free" countries in the world. Where people from around the world still long to come to realize their dreams. Where someone can be in a low station in life and then become a lawyer or some other professional. The social experiment that is the United States of America has not yet seen its best days and has much more to look forward to. Our government is resilient and malleable. I am reminded of that every presidential election when the losing side eventually steps aside and indicates support for the winner instead of rolling tanks down city boulevards. I'd rather live here than almost any other place on the planet (with a close second being the EU).