Monday, April 15, 2019

America’s Greatness: Not the Progress, but the Liberty Rights Behind the Progress


In a Reason article, U.S.A, U.S.A., U.S.A: Trump can't take away America's greatness, Shikha Dalmia lamented America’s slippage in its reputation in global polls under Donald Trump’s presidency. Nonetheless, she writes:

But fear not. America will overcome this loss of respect. American greatness doesn't stem from its politics or its political leaders so they can't tarnish it much either, not even Trump. What has made America great is that it has set the standards of excellence in literally every human endeavor for the last 150 years.

While immodest, it is not an overstatement to suggest that when it comes to the sciences, arts, technology, and business, America dominates the world. And it does so not by imposing its will on others, but by excelling so much that it forces other countries to compete on a higher plane. Quite simply, America has made the world a better place to live.

America pioneered nearly every transformational technology of the industrial age, beginning with Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera, and followed by Henry Ford's mass production of automobiles.

Shikha goes on to list a myriad of “America’s” achievements in all kinds of fields. Then:

But all of this is dwarfed by America's economic footprint on the world. This country is quite literally the economic engine of the Earth.

Shikha also highlights America’s military might, by far the greatest the world has ever seen, then concluding:

The American brand's reputation has been generated through vast, far-reaching, and all-encompassing contributions to the advancement of humanity. And it is profoundly at odds with Trump's empty braggadocio. Even though America is stuck with Trump as its face for now, there is every reason to believe that it'll regain its former glory once he passes from the scene. The unseemly antics of an impetuous man, even one so visible and powerful, can't make America small forever, after all.

Is her Optimism warranted? It depends.

There’s something missing from this article. An answer to the question, “What lies behind all of this progress and greatness?” Something not mentioned in the article--freedom based on individual rights—specifically the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property put in service to the pursuit of personal happiness.

America, in fact, did not create anything. Free American’s did. It is in the area of liberty rights and limited rights-protecting government that underpins America’s “all-encompassing contributions to the advancement of humanity.” This freedom--this engine of progress, the free individual pursuing her own self-interest--is threatened. Not by global polls, or anyone’s opinion of us. It is threatened from within, by a  collectivist movement, Progressivism, and its dominant political expression, the Democratic Party, that repudiates the core principles that America stands for, and that actually made America great. We should worry about the real threats.

Related Reading:


Also see my review of Levin’s book for The Objective Standard





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