America’s Weapon of Mass Attraction: Education

During the Cold War, there was a popular theory called the China Syndrome (later made into a movie of the same name – 1979).  The China Syndrome hypothesized if a nuclear meltdown occurred, molten nuclear material would penetrate the earth’s crust and burn a hole all the way to China.  It was conceived on the back of fantasy and fear – of the unknown capacity of nuclear reactions and the menacing prospects of communist China.  Today, such a silly notion would not even make it as a Hollywood sci-fi attraction; yet many of our leaders and pundits continue their embrace of our Cold War heritage: that American power is secured by our capacity for coercion.

            The neo-cons had it half right: liberty is the elixir of man.  Once humans enjoy freedom and independence they will never settle for oppression again.  And, free societies do generally make more peaceful ones.  However, the establishment of liberty cannot be achieved through coercion – the delivery system of choice for the neo-cons.  At best, coercion produces short-term effects.  Destroying an adversarial government via military power – destabilizing a society – produces a vacuum that is more easily filled by new tyrants and forms of oppression (security, economic, ideological, and/or theological) than by the principle of liberty.  Nor has the deployment of economic coercion proved effective – dollars tethered by political contingencies can be equally destabilizing and supportive of oppressive regimes, no matter how well intentioned (see Haiti – before or after the earthquake).

What we should know now is that liberty requires a fertile base of education and prosperity.  What Americans must realize is that a peaceful and prosperous future lies in our capacity to empower societies upon whom we depend in an inextricably interdependent world. We must shift our disposition from coercion to attraction, secured by our greatest capacity of all – to develop and deploy IT. “IT” is creative and critical thinking realized through education.  Fortunately, America dominates the world in producing IT as much as it dominates the world in military power.  But, we need to wake up and realize it/IT.

While there is plenty to be concerned about our secondary education system, particularly in math and science aptitudes, our universities are the best in the world.  According to the Jiao Tong University (Shanghai) ranking of universities based on scientific research, 17 of the top 20 are in the United States and the remaining three are at Cambridge (#4), Oxford (#10), and Tokyo (#20).  And, as James Fallows points out in his recent article, the US remains a magnet for foreign minds: one-quarter of the members of the National Sciences Academy were born abroad.[1]  But we should refrain from lamentation (like that often offered by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman) that American educated foreign students return to their native countries – that is nearly as shortsighted as the bigger-bombs bunch.  Each student who returns has the capacity to educate his or her countrymen, which inevitably leads to greater prosperity and the quest for freedom and independence.

America’s future is best assured by its projection of IT rather than regimes of coercion.  Above all others, this is the niche we must continue to dominate.  That is not to say we won’t need to deploy coercion to meet short-term objectives, but the world has learned how to subvert our military domination asymmetrically.  While they may read a different religious text, they all understand the leverage of David’s sling as he faced the giant Philistine, Goliath.[2]  The new China Syndrome suggests education and prosperity may be our best weapon to check the nationalistic impulse of China, and/or others.  Mobilizing 1.3 billion people to seek their own liberty is a better long-term bet.  Being the font of liberty is better served by empowering others with IT.

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[1] James Fallows, “How America Can Rise Again” The Atlantic, January/February 2010, www.theatlantic.com.

[2] 1 Samuel 17:1-51.

Crisis & Liberation: Toward a New Prosperity

British economist John Maynard Keynes warned in his thesis of the “Paradox of Thrift” that if everyone started to save more during an economic recession, a commensurate drop in aggregate demand would actually result in a drop in aggregate savings making everyone worse off. But his thesis doesn’t consider the social and political effects of crisis – of the psychosocial dynamics that also offer the prospect of liberation. His thesis, like those of today’s economic gurus who proclaim econometric prescience may fall victim to an aggregate yawn. Regardless of whether we save more or less, or if the economy rebounds quickly or slowly – or at all – we may all be better off if we embrace the opportunity crises provide: liberation.

If crises accomplish nothing else, they bring to question all the givens – the assumptions that prevailed pre-crisis. They offer an opportunity to cleanse us of beliefs and behavioral norms that rose to prominence not on the backs of principle, but on the exhilaration of deception. The promise of a benevolent technocracy that would assure everyone a piece of the American dream, and the continued benign and covetous admiration of the world are over. The no-money-down McMansions are an artifact that will make cultural anthropologists giggle for many years to come. Our challenge is to find and exploit the silver lining of crisis and affect our liberation. To stop praying at the altar of spending. To step off the treadmill of consumerism and pursue dreams that mean something. To thumb our nose at Mr. Keynes and move on.

This anti-consumerism notion, blasphemous though it may be, could be just what America needs. We may actually win our future back. On the domestic side, we might learn to enjoy the experiences of life, rather than worship the banality of false prosperity. While GDP and taxes would fall, it may finally reign-in our useless elected leaders who continue to spend money we don’t have while lining their pockets with lobbyist’s ‘appreciations.’ Families may have to take care of their own, rather than point their finger at the government. We may have to participate in the education of our children, while schools return their focus to core subjects and away from stylized babysitting programs. We may have to banish our sense of entitlement and replace it with the principles of equity. In short, we may have to become stronger individuals, closer families, and more effective communities.

On the global front, can you imagine the hue and cry from countries like China if the American consumer found greater happiness in less stuff? Can you imagine a world where Americans consume less fossil fuel? We’d stop funding our enemies, while improving both our environment and health. Do we really believe that the rest of the world would stop adopting (and/or pirating) our inventions? What if we brought our troops home and decided to reduce our global military footprint? Would we be worth hating anymore?

It’s time to pursue liberation – to question the givens and turn those away who leverage our future with a kaleidoscope of deceptions. To honor our capitalist heritage and allow creative destruction its way. Isn’t it about time we freed ourselves to apply our unique skills and make something new …something truly great? Crisis and liberation allow us to craft a new perspective and a new, more resilient identity that just might make us stronger, happier, and yes, even more powerful. Let’s not let this opportunity pass.