{"id":600765,"date":"2023-12-11T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/for-the-us-being-no-2-might-be-good-for-business\/"},"modified":"2023-12-11T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T17:00:00","slug":"for-the-us-being-no-2-might-be-good-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/for-the-us-being-no-2-might-be-good-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"#For the US, being No. 2 might be good for business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/bidenjoe_042023gn01_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>            <iframe title=\"Audio Article\" id=\"instaread_iframe\" name=\"instaread_playlist\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" style=\"display:block\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dwight Eisenhower had it right when he\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/milestone-documents\/president-dwight-d-eisenhowers-farewell-address\">warned\u00a0of a \u201cdefense-industrial complex\u201d<\/a> but not for what most people thought or understood at the time or since. The president was fearful that putting too many resources into that complex to overemphasize national security would have the opposite effect. The drain, he believed, on the private sector economy would damage the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we are facing a near-permanent\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/majority-in-u-s-see-relations-with-foreign-adversaries-grow-more-hostile-poll-finds\">adversarial\u00a0set of relations<\/a> with our principal opponents, China and Russia. Iran could also fit this de<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ion. North Korea, with its unpredictable dictator, is another class entirely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Why is this today\u2019s condition? Chinese and Russian policies and actions are perceived as malign and threatening. Russian <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/marking-fifteen-years-since-russias-invasion-and-occupation-of-georgia\/\">assaults on\u00a0Georgia<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/crimea-six-years-after-illegal-annexation\/\">Crimea\u00a0and the<\/a> invasion of Ukraine are unmistakable evidence. Likewise, China poses hostile intent beyond Asia.<\/p>\n<p>Can this cycle be broken in part to heed Ike\u2019s concerns about draining the economy and neglecting the private sector?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here is a radical idea. Why must the U.S. always be No. 1?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has called itself the leader of the free world and, later, the indispensable power. Why? The Cold War was perceived as a potentially existential struggle between freedom and democracy and monolithic, Godless communism. After much of Eastern Europe was isolated by the Iron Curtain and Soviet control after the war, the U.S. took it upon itself to lead the fight against this wartime ally gone rogue.<\/p>\n<p>China, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/chinas-consumer-prices-fall-fastest-3-years-factory-gate-deflation-deepens-2023-12-09\/\">despite\u00a0recent hiccups<\/a>, is on a course to have the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/graphic-detail\/2023\/06\/07\/when-will-chinas-gdp-overtake-americas\">largest economy in the world<\/a>. While Russia is trapped in Ukraine <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.understandingwar.org\/\">where it has\u00a0lost\u00a0a huge amount<\/a> of its army and military capability, it is forgotten that Russia possesses the world\u2019s largest amount of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/international\/content\/analysis\/countries_long\/Russia\/russia.pdf\">oil and gas\u00a0reserves<\/a>. That means the long-term outlook for Russia may be far more positive than many in the U.S. and the West believe.<\/p>\n<p>So suppose China eclipses the U.S. in gross domestic product (GDP). And Russia exploits its advantage in natural resources. What should the U.S. do?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The answer is to challenge its past assumptions of the advantages of retaining No. 1 status. That will not be achievable without a profound shift in mindsets, attitudes and most importantly understanding of China and Russia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a fully rational world, what extra benefits accrue from having the world\u2019s largest economy? Not much. From a U.S. perspective, maintaining the central reserve currency is vital. Beyond that, we must realize that being No. 2 makes no real difference as long as we understand that China has many problems and constraints that cannot be overcome even by possessing the world\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n<p>As for Russia, no matter what is happening in Ukraine, it probably will not implode as the USSR did. Russia is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/09\/business\/economy\/russia-economy-ukraine-war.html\">doing\u00a0better\u00a0economically<\/a> despite sanctions than many thought was possible. And assuming the war in Ukraine will end without escalating, Russia\u2019s giant energy reserves can only drive economic growth.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>With these realities, will the United States need to maintain a permanently adversarial relationship with China and Russia, and if so, why? Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Anatomy-Failure-America-Loses-Starts\/dp\/1682472256\">needed external\u00a0threats<\/a>\u00a0in part to constrain the many centrifugal forces dividing the nation. Hence, the engagements in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan would follow.<\/p>\n<p>Consider if the No. 2 status was acceptable. Might that begin by changing this adversarial nature of foreign policy and shifting instead to a pragmatic, interest-based foundation? The U.S. would not abandon its internationalism and neglect its genuine international responsibilities. But it would exploit the unique comparative advantages the U.S. possesses beyond the size of a free market economy.<\/p>\n<p>China and Russia do not have economies that accommodate even a remotely equivalent entrepreneurial capacity. U.S. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/04\/18\/america-lead-tech-innovation-eroding-china-investment-women-inventors-holly-fechner\/\">private\u00a0sector\u00a0creativity and innovation<\/a> surpass any others, including China. Why not put more faith in it and reinforce and strengthen this entrepreneurial advantage?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean shedding our defenses and assuming good behavior on the part of others. But it does mean, as Eisenhower argued and no one fully grasped, recognizing the real danger of the so-called military-industrial complex. As Ike said, putting too many resources in that base would weaken the civilian economy, placing the nation in great jeopardy. Maintaining a permanent adversarial construct could do that.<\/p>\n<p>Being No. 2 and moving toward an interest-based foreign policy would revert from the traditional enemy and threat-focused constructs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But do we have the capacity for such a bold leap? Ike would have said yes.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p><em>Harlan\u00a0Ullman,\u00a0Ph.D., is a senior adviser at the Atlantic Council and the prime author of the \u201cshock and awe\u201d military doctrine. His 12th book, \u201cThe Fifth Horseman and the New MAD:\u00a0 How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large,\u201d is available on Amazon. He can be reached on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> @harlankullman.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/international\/4352624-for-the-us-being-number-two-might-be-good-for-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dwight Eisenhower had it right when he\u00a0warned\u00a0of a \u201cdefense-industrial complex\u201d but not for what most people thought or understood at the time or since. The president was fearful that putting too many resources into that complex to overemphasize national security would have the opposite effect. The drain, he believed, on the private sector economy would&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":600766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/bidenjoe_042023gn01_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[117,16819,88397,90482,124783,134614,147629,141939,134345,145634,141310,70588],"class_list":["post-600765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-business","tag-dwight-eisenhower","tag-global-economy","tag-house","tag-international","tag-judiciary","tag-military-industrial-complex","tag-politics-of-the-united-states","tag-state-watch","tag-us-china-tensions","tag-us-russia-relations","tag-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}