The Sky is Falling, Again

In 1957, the Soviet Union proved the superiority of communism over capitalism with the successful launch of Sputnik, the first man-made object to orbit the earth. To many in this country, the USA was falling behind in science and math and drastic government action was needed. To some extent they were right: the field of battle was moving into space and if we were to defend liberty, we must go there also. Soon, DARPA and NASA were formed.

Around this time, Castro and Guevara overthrew the government of Cuba and we were told that their investments in social services, particularly medicine, would put the US to shame. Drastic and immediate government action was needed to shore up capitalism's weaknesses.

In the late 1980s, the fear spread that the Japanese (and to a lesser extent, Germany) would soon take over the world, thanks to a complete retooling of their manufacturing infrastructure after WWII. There were calls for the nationalization of several industries in order to perform the capital investments necessary to compete.

In the 1990s, it was the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to Mexico and elsewhere that would create a "giant sucking sound", leaving the US with nothing but minimum wage jobs. NAFTA was to be killed and trade barriers erected to prevent massive unemployment.

Today it's China. Now the left is telling me that the Chinese are smarter and more nimble because they are planned and controlled centrally. They apparently benefit from having only one political party, avoiding partisan bickering and gridlock. When something needs to be done, they do it. Snazzy airports, high speed trains, focused high-tech training programs, government subsidies of strategic businesses ... you name it, the Chinese do it better.

The US is a fading nation and large government action is needed to save us.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Liberals, who seem never to tire of being wrong, panic easily and don't hesitate to recommend a deal with the devil when it looks like a storm may be coming. They spout on about how we should emulate China, but seem oblivious to what might go wrong if we give government the right to control all aspects of our lives just so we can skip the tedious process of convincing people to do things voluntarily.

In the 15 years or so since China started waking up to the idea of using their vast (mostly human) resources to create wealth, they have gone from a 3rd world country to the 2nd biggest economy. That's pretty good. They've done it without a lot of violence. Also good. But, the human rights violations are uncountable and there is significant danger of a bloody attempt at revolution, one that could either liberate a billion people or see the communists tighten their grip. China is on the rise. Let's talk in 100 years to determine whether they succeeded.

And if China does succeed, it won't come at the expense of the US. Such a rising tide will raise all ships.

I'll take a free nation where capitalism and individual liberty prevail. The US has remained a great nation, truly exceptional, for generations. This could change, but only if we put aside our values.