The United States As Global Liberal Hegemon : How the US Came to Lead the World

The United States as Global Liberal Hegemon examines America’s role as the global liberal hegemon. Using a historical analysis to understand how the United States came to serve as the world leader, Goldberg argues why the role of a liberal hegemon is needed, whether the United States has the ability to fulfill this role, and what the pitfalls and liabilities of continuing in this role are for the nation. He also considers the impact that this role on the global stage has for the country as well as individual citizens of the United States. Goldberg argues that the United States's geographic location away from strong competitors, it's role as the dominant economy for much of the 20th century, and its political culture of meritocracy all contributed to the United States taking this role in the 1940s. He also argues that the role of liberal hegemon has shifted to include not only being the international policeperson but also to be the world's central banker, a role that at this time only the United States can fill. Kierkegaard himself hardly requires introduction, but his thought con­ tinues to require explication due to its inherent complexity and its unusual method of presentation. Kierkegaard is deliberately un-systematic, anti-systematic, in the very age of the System. He made his point then, and it is not lost upon us today. But that must not deter us from assembling the fragments and viewing the whole. Kierkegaard's religious psychology in particular may finally have its impact and generate the discussion it deserves when its outlines and inter-locking elements are viewed together. Many approaches to his thought are possible, as a survey of the literature about him will readily reveal.! The present study proceeds with the simple ambition of looking at Kierkegaard on his own terms, of thus putting aside biographical fascination or one's own personal religi­ ous situation. I understand the temptation of both, and have seen the dangers realized in Kierkegaard scholarship. In English-language Kier­ kegaard scholarship, we are now in a new phase, in which the entire corpus of Kierkegaard's authorship is at last viewed as a whole. We have passed the stages of'fad'and of under-formed. Almost all the corpus is available in English, or soon will be. Perhaps now Kierkegaard can be viewed, understood, and criticized dispassionately and objectively, not withstanding author Kierkegaard's personal horror of those adverbs. The present study hopes to make its contribution toward this goal. Kierkegaard himself hardly requires introduction, but his thought con tinues to require explication due to its inherent complexity and its unusual method of presentation. Kierkegaard is deliberately un-systematic, anti-systematic, in the very age of the System. He made his point then, and it is not lost upon us today. But that must not deter us from assembling the fragments and viewing the whole. Kierkegaard's religious psychology in particular may finally have its impact and generate the discussion it deserves when its outlines and inter-locking elements are viewed together. Many approaches to his thought are possible, as a survey of the literature about him will readily reveal.! The present study proceeds with the simple ambition of looking at Kierkegaard on his own terms, of thus putting aside biographical fascination or one's own personal religi ous situation. I understand the temptation of both, and have seen the dangers realized in Kierkegaard scholarship. In English-language Kier kegaard scholarship, we are now in a new phase, in which the entire corpus of Kierkegaard's authorship is at last viewed as a whole. We have passed the stages of "fad" and of under-formed. Almost all the corpus is available in English, or soon will be. Perhaps now Kierkegaard can be viewed, understood, and criticized dispassionately and objectively, not withstanding author Kierkegaard's personal horror of those adverbs. The present study hopes to make its contribution toward this goal Acknowledgments Contents 1 Introduction The US as Global Hegemon Overreach and Disillusionment Plan for the Book 2 Organizing the World as the Liberal Hegemon Geography Economy Culture What Does Liberal Hegemon Mean? The Crowning of the Liberal Hegemon and with It the Implied Role of the Cop Globalization References 3 Why the Liberal Hegemon Is Necessary A World Without Either Hegemony or Balance of Power The Crippled, Antiquated but Very Necessary United Nations Trade, the So-Called New Guarantor of Peace References 4 The Political Culture of the Liberal Hegemon The Enlightenment and Property The Political Culture of Entrepreneurship Just Some of the EU’s Legal Actions Against US “Big Tech” Companies Google/Alphabet Amazon Apple Facebook Healthcare Path Dependence A Financial Pandemic A Medical Pandemic References 5 Pitfalls and Lessons Facing America’s Hegemonic Policy America’s Soft Power Myopia and Change Subjective Historic Memory The Cop Caught in the Myopic Trap The Cop and Paranoia Outside Influence Upending the March of Folly References 6 What Are the Rewards of Citizenry in the Liberal Hegemon? Benefits Investing and the Financial Cost of Hegemony The Rewards of Hegemony The Easy Appeal of Isolationism Tomorrow References Index