[Specop_007]

It seems, both abroad and domestically, all eyes seem to be on America. Why is that? Why is the world so concerned with who are President is, and our actions in the Middle East. It doesnt seem like Europeans or Canadians should much care one way or the other. How can America President and his actions directly affect foriegn countries such as Canada, Britian or Germany? Why does it seem in this end game that America is such a key player?

[Jack]

Probably because we are the largest economy in the world, with the most powerful military.

Have you noticed how China is more in the news? If they supplant the U.S., you'll see them get a great deal more attention.

[duff_beer_dragon]

because back when Britian and Spain were building up Navy's, the 'New World' was the goal - securing that, conquering it, etc,

same again from the Third Reich - USA was the prize,

(France) Canada - from the North

Japan - from the West

Brazil, etc, - from the South

Europe - from the East

See how the USA is slap-bang in the crosshair ?

[Licho]

Because of your foreign policy. People here do care about Iraq and about what US military does. People are concerned about US refusal of Kyoto treaty, violation of human rights, christian fundamentalism and aggresive foregin policy..

And btw. USA is not the largest economy anymore, EU is..

[Oiltanker]

Firepower.

[clv101]

See how the USA is slap-bang in the crosshair ?

Urm... we live on a globe!

People watch the US because they are the biggest economy, biggest currency, biggest consumer, biggest military... AND have a foreign policy that projects that bigness all over the world. IE decision made in the US effect everyone.

[marek]

The US is NOT the biggest economy. The 2003 US GDP is 11,000 trillion dollars while the EU-25 is 11,017 trillion. This is very close yet it shows that the US is no longer the only economic superpower.

[trespam]

The US is NOT the biggest economy. The 2003 US GDP is 11,000 billion dollars while the EU-25 is 11,017 billion. This is very close yet it shows that the US is no longer the only economic superpower.

I don't have the quantitative data on hand (and don't feel like searching right now), but the US is still the engine of economic growth in the world. Primarily because the US consumes so much and saves so little. This means the world is highly dependent on us economically. In the coming years, economic growth at a global level will no longer increase, America's systemic problems will be resolved one way or another (low-savings, current account, budget deficit), and the regions of the world will have to rely on their own markets to manager their economies. At that time, the US will become less important economically.

So why is the US in the cross hairs? If you are on a plane, and you don't agree with the direction it is headed, do you talk to the pilot, or the person making coffee. It's that simple. Militarily, no country comes close to the US in flexibility. Economically they rely on the dollar and our consumption. Our media has global reaches. As does out language and culture.

Many Americans get tired of the criticism. I say those Americans have far too sensitive egos, and demonstrate lack of leadership skills. All leaders are criticized. It goes with the territory. Good leaders, at minimum, listen to the criticism: they might learn something. And they also acknowledge the criticism. It helps build partnerships. Leaders who don't fall, sooner or later.

[marek]

In this sense, I totally agree. The US is important because it is the "importer of last resort," driving global economic growth. I just wanted to point out that it is not the only economic entity with a GDP above 11 trillion.

[marek]

It doesnt seem like Europeans or Canadians should much care one way or the other.

Actually Europe cares a lot. Even though it uses much less oil per person than does the US, its import share of oil use is much larger due to low domestic production. Don't hold me accountable for that figure, but as far as I remember, 80% of European imports come from the Middle East.

[duff_beer_dragon]

That's fascinating, you living on a globe. Small world isn't it, I was just posting recently that we all live on a globe, or that the earth is round.

Want to explain what your living on a globe has to do with what I wrote? What did you imagine that I had pictured about what I wrote, when you chose to comment on it like that?

[Creek]

I would say that when one walks through the woods, he always keeps his eyes open for snakes, bears, mountain lions, etc. It always makes sense to keep an eye on the dangerous ones, so I guess this tells you what the world thinks of the USA.

[trespam]

I would say that when one walks through the woods, he always keeps his eyes open for snakes, bears, mountain lions, etc. It always makes sense to keep an eye on the dangerous ones, so I guess this tells you what the world thinks of the USA.

I see it more as the bull in the China closet. The US is the largest bull, so when we move, something breaks. Are the French, for example, such wonderful people? Aren't they the same ones who continue blowing off nuclear weapons in the atmospher? And planted a bomb on a greenpeace ship, scuttling it and killing one occupant? This is not meant to bash other countries, but if the US had invaded Germany in WWII to pre-empt Hitler, the world would have been all over our ass. Millions had to die before it became ok.

[MonteQuest]

It seems, both abroad and domestically, all eyes seem to be on America. Why is that? Why is the world so concerned with who are President is, and our actions in the Middle East. It doesnt seem like Europeans or Canadians should much care one way or the other. How can America President and his actions directly affect foriegn countries such as Canada, Britian or Germany? Why does it seem in this end game that America is such a key player?

There is an old saying, "When America sneezes the whole world catches a cold." Primarily, we have the world's reserve currency, the most powerful military, and the worse financial disorder of any house in the world. 80% of the word's savings is tied up in America dollar denominated assets. Our hegemony has been dominate in the world since the end of WWII.

We are asking others to subsidize policies they politically dislike by taking on gigantic and increasing positions in low yield bonds denominated in a declining currency that they are already overly exposed to. This might be acceptable if there were signs of strength or reversal in our trade relations. The opposite is true. Last week the Wall Street Journal called to its readers’ attention the projection that the US will soon become a net importer of food. The day will come when foreign investors simply say “noâ€

[khebab]

One word: Imperialism

From an European point of view, American imperialism has always been perceived as a threat. I'm talking not only about ideological but also cultural and economical imperialism. American Imperialism was ok when USSR was still in the game but now it is perceived negatively by 90% of the world. The last Iraq invasion and a texan cowboy in the white house had just reinforced that feeling.

[Licho]

Yes Khebab, ordinary people don't know/care about financial problems or dollar value much. But they do care about aggresive foreign policy, about attempts to force them something, about warmongering and selfishness/hypocricy/arrogance and about ignorance of worldwide ecological problems..
This is why Bush is disliked across whole world and why US elections were so important for whole world..
It was not always this way in general public, Bush started it. In Clinton's era, USA and Clinton himself was generally accepted very well despite his minor affairs and liked.

[gg3]

As I've said before, in the post-WW2 period, America was a kind of "beacon of hope" in the world, acting as a force to promote democracy and oppose tyranny. During the Cold War period the primary axis of ideological competition was between democracy and market economies, vs. totalitarianism and command economies.

To the extent that this overall mission has been successful, we have seen the rise of democratic governance structures and market economies all over the world.

We are therefore presently faced with a new and interesting kind of ideological competition: Europe, Japan, etc., now provide their own alternative models of democracy and market economies, which compete with each other and with the USA version. We are now one among many, and we are judged accordingly. (The other axis of ideological competition, between civilization and barbarianism in the form of terrorism, is beyond the scope of this posting.)

Our success has given us the paradoxical reward of being held up to closer scrutiny. It is a reward because it is the logical outcome of our primary goal during the Cold War. It is paradoxical because, as with any form of competition, it does not allow us the luxury of resting on our previous accomplishments.

Our historic ideals have become the modern world's ideals. To the extent that we live up to our ideals, we gain favor in the world. To the extent that we fail to do so, we are subject to criticism. This is as it should be.

[MonteQuest]

khebab, Licho, gg3,

All very good points. The big picture as I see it, is that America took more than it's share and set it up as a standard of living. Then we went about proposing that everyone "model" us. And as gg3 pointed out, we have succeeded in helping them to do just that. We have even gone so far as to export our technology and our factory base as well. Now, American quality production comes back to us by way of ChinaMart, Nissan, Sony. etc. It used to be Montgomery Ward, Chevrolet, and RCA Victor. Trouble is, they now have the ability to produce quality goods at low prices, and low wages. $1- $5/hour for factory workers in China. They have a 150 million rural labor pool to draw from. We borrow their savings and spend it on goods they produce. If we had to compete with their production, how many Americans would work for $1 to $5 an hour?

Suddenly, we are going to have to share with the rest of the world our standard of living. And guess what? There isn't enough to go around. Guess it will have to come off the top of America's big, bloated, wasteful piece of the pie. We are going to have to give some of it back. The world fears we won't share, and with our latest imperial adventure in Iraq, is it no wonder?

[Kingcoal]

And btw. USA is not the largest economy anymore, EU is..

The USA has the biggest economy in the world. The EU is not a country, it is a collection of countries.

[Jack]

We are going to have to give some of it back.

Frankly, I'd rather not. The first politician that suggests giving anything back can expect to be trounced at the polls.

And, since it's already been pointed out that our friends, the European Union, are now a larger economy than is the U.S., we can let them shoulder some more of the expenses...say, Kosovo and Serbia. And Africa. And the rest of the foreign aid nonsense.