Who should we blame for our problems?
One view is that we should blame America.
In this view, America has done so many
bad things over the years that it is the
main source of conflict in the world.
Another view is that we should blame
foreigners or immigrants. In this view
we’d be much better off if we we could
build walls separating us from the others.
We should avoid both of these views.
The “Blame America First” view
seems to have become more common
since the Vietnam War, when opponents
of U.S. involvement argued that
the U.S. was at fault and since then
they have used Vietnam as an analogy
for other issues in recent decades.
You can make a long list of wrongful
actions taken by the U.S., but
the reality is complicated. Slavery
was an important part of the early U.S.,
but hundreds of thousands of U.S.
soldiers gave their lives in an extremely
costly war to end slavery. The U.S.
has sometimes supported foreign dictators,
but the U.S. also contributed to the
rebuilding of Europe with the Marshall
Plan after the devastation of World War II.
To fully appreciate the accomplishment of
the founders of the U.S., you have to look at
the oppression that was common all over
the world before that time. See
https://douglasadowning.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/world-governments-on-july-4-1775/
Also note that for many decades the U.S.
invited immigrants to come to this country and
share in the opportunities here.
We also need to avoid the “blame foreigners”
view. People in business often worry that
people might buy from somebody else, instead
of them. If people buy products from other
countries then there is a temptation for
businesses to blame those foreigners for
the problems with the business, and perhaps
seek help from the government to cut off
the foreigner’s access to our economy.
If we really think that the American economy
is weaker because we have to compete with
other countries, then we’re like a college
football team that makes sure it only schedules
opponents from smaller schools that can be
easily beaten. This team would be afraid of
meeting anyone that could provide actual
competition. This fear is a sign of weakness,
not a way to become better. Don’t carry
this analogy too far, though. In a sports
contest for one team to win the other team
must lose. In economics you will only trade
if it is mutually advantageous, so both parties
to the trade come out ahead. The people who
don’t necessarily come out ahead are those that
are not participating in the trade. More about
that later.
……………..
–Douglas Downing
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