Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Funny you should post on this subject. I just finished reading a 2007 FP article regarding how Europe is in the long-term process of destroying their young people's understanding of how wealth is created. This, despite the unceasing upward trend of median standards of living over the last century made possible by capitalism

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2007/12/13/europes_philosophy_of_failure

"More, not less central planning is what we need!", is the cry we hear with increasing frequency.

"What we need is a strong leader who can crack heads together to get things done - like they have over in China."

I am an optimist by nature - but its sad to watch Europe commit a long, slow, suicide by drinking a cocktail of entitlement programs, protectionist trade policies, and anti-productive xenophobia/neo-nationalism.

Worse though, is willful ignorance on the part of Americans. School curricula here, as in Europe are to blame...but our problem is worse than theirs. They teach half-baked economic principles mixed with feel-good mumbo-jumbo. We teach almost nothing at all. Our ignorance is worse than their education policy because, at least they learn the basics of how economies work (albeit incorrectly). That can be fixed with experience and time. Americans, on the other hand, see economics as a form of unfathomable voodoo best left to our shamans in temples of the Treasury Dept. and The Fed (and all the demi-gods Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, SEC, etc). Forget about sacrificing a virgin to the volcano gods. As far as Americans are concerned, print up another trillion and throw it in there - see if that works.

If future national financial health was a book:
* Europe has the book upside-down and backwards.
* America has the book, read it once 230 years ago, locked it up for safe keeping - has subsequently forgotten most of it...but now can't find the damn key.
* China has a Sharpie and is re-writing the parts it doesn't like, regardless of whether the whole thing makes any sense.

I find there is nothing new under the sun WRT authoritarian capitalism.

This is mostly about the West freaking out about necessary changes and imagining an Eastern bogeyman as incentive.

China ruling the world remains a sad joke. If the US suddenly absorbed all the poor of the entire hemisphere, then we'd be China. Would we feel powerful as a result?

Regarding education and the politics of it. In Colorado we are facing a budgetary shortfall. while scrambling to raise taxes and to cut spending, the politicians have decided to cut Elementary Education while spending on "Higher Ed" . .

Wonderful theory, because College Students vote, third graders don't . . But then when Johnny can't read, how's he gonna go to college? This shows the thought line of the progressive politicians we have elected . . Time to make IQ and history tests mandatory for both candidate and voter . .

China is becoming a global power with the help and cooperation from the West in spite of the burden of a socialist overlay to its development as a capitalist low-cost global supplier. Cheaper products and low-interest borrowing from China were an opportunity too good to pass up and too tempting not to abuse. Government businesses and consumers in the US (and the West) all over-spent, over-extended, over-committed and over-played their opportunities in imitation/counterfeit of a continuing prosperity which was followed by a very real bust. In retrospect the lesson is clear enough. The prospect and right path going forward is not as clear.