Last week, I posted a link to a Fareed Zakaria essay, an excerpt from his new book, that looks at the future of America with both hope and some reservations. Today, he has another piece in Newsweek that is based on the other essay with some additions. He has one big problem, however. Zakaria is a supporter of the Democratic Party.
How does he reconcile this:
The global economy has more than doubled in size over the last 15 years and is now approaching $54 trillion! Global trade has grown by 133 percent in the same period. The expansion of the global economic pie has been so large, with so many countries participating, that it has become the dominating force of the current era. Wars, terrorism, and civil strife cause disruptions temporarily but eventually they are overwhelmed by the waves of globalization. These circumstances may not last, but it is worth understanding what the world has looked like for the past few decades.
with this:
Much of the criticism was initiated by Clinton. But it assumed a life of its own as Obama struggled to explain why a Canadian government memo quoted one of his aides as saying Obama’s opposition to NAFTA was for political show.
and this:
PITTSBURGH – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told manufacturers and union workers on Monday that her husband made mistakes related to the North American Free Trade Agreement that she plans to fix. Her comment came in response to a question by a union worker at a summit sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing. The worker said President Clinton had tricked them when he championed NAFTA during his presidency.
Zakari has to deal with the paradox that the party he supports is isolationist and irresponsible on issues like regulation and taxes. He comments in the article that London is now the world financial capital because of litigation and new laws like Sarbanes-Oxley that drive financial business away from our country. He comments that we have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, ignoring the fact that his favorite candidate for president has just said he would raise the capital gains and corporate tax rates even if they lost money for the government.
Zakaria has a valuable new book but he must reconcile his preferred party’s policies with the world that he sees. It will be a problem.