“It pays to be the world’s policeman – literally”
Author: Thanassis Campanis
[SS: Cambanis argues that it is in the US interest to maintain the Liberal International Order (LIO). The inherent advantages of the LIO to America more than compensate for the costs of leadership and public goods provision. First, the costs are not as high as imagined: defense spending constitutes a huge jobs subsidy. Second, primacy is an insurance policy as it provides the US with a disproportional voice in any decisions that might change future global conditions, without which conditions might change to America’s disadvantage. Third, America is able to tilt the world trade and economic systems to its advantage. ]
“Is the United States outweighing a burden or a benefit?”
[A Response to “It Pays to be the World’s Policeman–Literally”]
Author: John Glaser
https://www.cato.org/blog/us-primacy-burden-or-benefit
[SS: Glaser counters that there would be more economic ‘giveback’ from the US investing in more productive industries. He also makes the point that while the US may have the ability to tip economic scales in its favor, it’s unclear the extent to which it has actually done so (e.g. the US didn’t get better oil contracts in the Gulf). Moreover, if the US didn’t incur massive costs being the global policeman, there would be no need to do so at all. Finally, Glaser questions the narrative that US military hegemony has been essential to securing most of the perceived benefits of the LIO, positing that nuclear weapons and a change in global attitudes towards war may have been more important factors.]
Comment OP تعليق
I think that trying to understand the relative and absolute distribution of benefits from US supremacy/dominance is perhaps the most important question in geopolitics/international relations today. I think this is a very difficult question to answer, mainly because modern trade and economy are so complex. It’s unclear if anyone really understands it. However, having a best guess as to who benefits from US supremacy appears to be an essential prerequisite for analyzing current geopolitics, including what is the best way forward.
Additional reading
“The Debate on American Hegemony” by Brian Schmidt
https://doc-research.org/2019/06/the-debate-on-american-hegemon/
Trump, American Hegemony, and the Future of the Liberal International Order by Doug Stokes
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/images/ia/INTA94_1_8_238_Stokes.pdf
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