Re: What is America’s place in the world?
Description: Our prescriptions contradict our own path to success.
Transcript:
Well first do no harm. There is a diet plan that somebody told me about that was being marketed a while ago which was called “Stop the Insanity.” Just stop the insanity. Stop invading other countries. Stop pouring bushel fulls of money on corrupt governments. Stop twisting countries’ arms to adopt the kind of reform that experts in Washington and New York think they ought to adopt, which is really the wrong way to go about implementing any free markets or democracy. It can’t be imposed and coerced on other societies. Other societies have to freely choose their own freedom. It’s a ridiculous thing to think that we, the west, can impose freedom on other people. That contradicts the very idea of freedom. Freedom arises when people freely choose to protect their own freedoms, to seize their own freedoms, to assert their own freedoms. And so a lot of what the west can do is just stop doing the stupid thing we’re doing now. And once we get to that point, then I think there’s some positive things the west can do as far as exchanging intellectual ideas, exchanging technologies, making available technologies, making available our institutions of higher learning to students from all over the world, allowing free trading goods so that African cotton farmers can sell their cotton in our markets, which we’re not letting them into at the moment. That kind of thing, I think, is what mainly the west can do.
Recorded On: 7/6/07
This Author is very right about the way America treats other countries. “Stop twisting countries’ arms to adopt the kind of reform that experts in Washington and New York think they ought to adopt.” This is exactly what America is known for on the global stage. They believe that their government is the best and only successful government. As the author says: “That contradicts the very idea of freedom.”
I believe this guy is right. We have to stop doing what we are doing and learn from past experiences.
“It’s a ridiculous thing to think that we, the west, can impose freedom on other people. That contradicts the very idea of freedom. Freedom arises when people freely choose to protect their own freedoms, to seize their own freedoms, to assert their own freedoms.”
Doing this type of things is exactly what america is known for, it was why we fought against communism in the mid and late 1900’s. people do not always have the option to fight for thier own freedom. therefore foriegn help should be approved.
however, as in poland in 1980s, the solidarity movement was able to over throw communism in thier country which led to the fall of the soviet union.
today, the U.S. is experiencing another vietnam and is making the same mistakes.
if the war was actually for the reasons that they told us about then i would be for it, but since we were lied to, they have absolutly no right to be there anymore. therefore, william easterly is only halfway correct.
Freedom in America is overrated so many people in the government think that what they think and what they have is right and what everyone else has is bad and wrong. Every new president or new governor we get, thinks that they need to make a difference in another country. What they don’t understand is that they are there own country they have the right to have their own freedoms and rights and laws just like America does. America needs to start understanding that not everyone wants to be like them, thats why they are a different country. Yes, I am against communism and beliefs like that, but I don’t try to go and change the way these people live, or what these people do in these countries. These countries people decided how they live now by themselves no one decided this for them. If they have a problem with their life style then they need to do something about it, we cant make that decision for them. Yes, I understand that these countries can be a threat, but that doesn’t mean we have to make decisions for them if they become a danger to us that is the time we need to step in and try and change something about it.
Keon
that’s why the whole world has this big issue with America because America thinks they need to be involved in every little thing so that every country is like America, but thats not going to fly for all those countries that have different beliefs and different goals in life.
Mr. Easterly,
It is a great idea to help them technologically and with education. How will they, though, with all the problems still there? It is a challenge, and I think there may always be problems there, until the end of the world.
Phillip
I have to disagree! Yes, other countries can be a huge threat, but we don’t have to get involved with them if they have not done anything to give us a scare or make us think that they are a threat to us.
“Phillip
I have to disagree! Yes, other countries can be a huge threat, but we don’t have to get involved with them if they have not done anything to give us a scare or make us think that they are a threat to us.”
ok true but what if these people cannot defend themselvs from their own governments???
Philip
if they all get together and form a big movement then they will overrule their government