IP Blog

The United States of America has been the world superpower for almost a century now, but we are witnessing the fall of Westernism.  If you mark the Spanish-American war as the demonstration of American power, the exact count is about one hundred and nine years, but it is questionable whether we still remain the super-power.  Today we are threatened by China and Japan for the top power, with many countries close behind.  They, China and Japan, are slowly taking over our markets, and through trade with America, depleting our economy.  The root of the problem is America’s gradual change from a goods-producing economy to a service economy.

So what is a service economy?  For those of you who don’t know, a service economy is based on the idea of providing a service, like healthcare and restaurants, rather than manufacturing or agriculture.  The US today is considered a service economy because more than half of US workers are service based.  What’s the problem with service economics?  Well lets examine the flow of money.  A person goes to the store and buys a sweater.  The retailer makes a small amount of money on the sweater, but that sweater was made in China, since there are few American manufacturers.  Therefore, we are funneling money out of our economy on trade with other countries while just switching money between people in the US.  It’s not that I am against importing goods, but we don’t export very much.  In 2006, the US reported a trade deficit of over $800 billion.  This is money that could be benefiting American people, but instead is being sent overseas.

To fix this loss of money, we need to examine how the US became one of the richest nations in the world the first time.  Ralph Waldo Emerson urged Americans in his work “The Young American” to use nature and the resources of the land to regain power.  The wealth of America, according to Emerson, is in the land.  “We must regard the land as a commanding and increasing power on the citizen, the sanative and Americanizing influence, which promises to disclose new virtues for ages to come.” I encourage you to take another look at the self-reflective picture.  The reflection shows the very thing that has made America less powerful.  We have become separated from the very land that entitled us this great power by an inch thick piece of glass.  We no longer trust our land to provide for us.  The first step to regaining power is to use our land, and wisely.

We must then use the resources from the land to manufacture goods.  These goods can then be traded.  They will bring money into the US, allowing the US to gain wealth.  In today’s world, money is power.  Emerson said “Trade is an instrument in the hands of that friendly Power which works for us in our own despite.” With this increased trade, we will finally take back our former power.  Besides bringing us wealth, trade will strengthen ties between the US and other nations. 

The true key to regaining power is to balance the use of the land, manufacturing, imports and exports.  Only when these are all in balance does America have the power to start projects and designs.  This balance gives Americans the expectations of a safe and happy future.