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The United States Couldn’t Stop Being Stupid if It Wanted To — Stephen M. Walt

Summary:
Is the US condemned to "doing stupid shit" (Obama) because of its Western liberalism coupled with vast power enabling interventionist policy? And is there an economic motive behind this, notably from MICIMATT aka Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank complex (Ray McGovern) that President Eisenhower warned about but also from all those who stand to gain from the continuance and expansion of the US-controlled "rules-based international order." And is liberal interventionism the next round of crusades (as G. W. Bush let slip).While he does not mention it, a fundamental question is this is the role that role that economic liberalism in the form of the current stage of "capitalism" plays. Are social and political liberalism just secondary factors that are

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Is the US condemned to "doing stupid shit" (Obama) because of its Western liberalism coupled with vast power enabling interventionist policy? And is there an economic motive behind this, notably from MICIMATT aka Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank complex (Ray McGovern) that President Eisenhower warned about but also from all those who stand to gain from the continuance and expansion of the US-controlled "rules-based international order." And is liberal interventionism the next round of crusades (as G. W. Bush let slip).

While he does not mention it, a fundamental question is this is the role that role that economic liberalism in the form of the current stage of "capitalism" plays. Are social and political liberalism just secondary factors that are used to promote economic liberalism in a world controlled by Global North and West. Many in the Global South and East thinks so. The present moment in the historical dialectic can be viewed from this perspective as chiefly about power, especially as applied to control of global wealth and natural resources.

Stephen Walt sees a problem here but offers a weak analysis and therefore a weak solution, avoiding the big issues regarding the current state of the world system. But the article is worth a read anyway. Walt is one of the few American foreign policy realists that is given a voice at establishment venues like Foreign Policy.

Bill Totten's Weblog
The United States Couldn’t Stop Being Stupid if It Wanted To

Stephen M. Walt | Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations, Harvard University.
Originally published at Foreign Policy

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Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

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