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October 22, 2007
The End of Exceptionalism
The United States has always thought of itself as exceptional,
but nowadays we are standing apart for the wrong things.
Good news doesn't sell.
You are unlikely to see a newspaper headline that says no fires in New
York City last night. But it's worth pointing out that there are important
positive trends afoot in the world. Large majorities across countries
and cultures are in favor of democracy, free markets, trade and cultural
exchange. If you think back to a generation ago, in the mid-1980s, this
is a sea change. Last week's release of the Pew Global Attitudes Survey
provides the most vivid evidence of a new worldwide consensus. But—and
here's the bad news—it highlights the fact that that the United States
is becoming the odd country out.
The most striking statistic in the survey has to do
with trade. Thumping majorities everywhere said that growing trade ties
between countries are "very good" or "somewhat good"—91
percent in China, 85 percent in Germany, 88 percent in Bulgaria, 87 percent
in South Africa, 93 percent in Kenya and so on. Of the 47 countries surveyed,
the one that came in dead last was … America, at 59 percent. The
only country within 10 points of us was Egypt.
Or take a look at the attitudes toward foreign companies.
When asked if they had a positive impact, a surprisingly large number
of people agreed. It's particularly interesting to see this in countries
like Brazil, Nigeria, India and Bangladesh, which have typically been
suspicious of Western multinationals. (South Asia's unease has some basis;
those countries were colonized by a multinational corporation.) And yet,
73 percent in India, 75 percent in Bangladesh, 70 percent in Brazil and
82 percent in Nigeria favor these companies. The number in America, however,
is 45 percent, which places us in the bottom five. We expect the world
to welcome U.S. companies with open arms and yet do not reciprocate the
hospitality.
The United States has always thought of itself as
exceptional.
But nowadays we are standing apart for the wrong things.
America has typically been seen as the place where the boundaries of personal
freedom were being stretched, where women's liberation was forged, where
wacky new lifestyles and crazes were most enthusiastically adopted. For
much of the world, America was the future. That is not the impression
you would come away with, looking at this survey. For example, America
has an unusually regressive attitude on whether homosexuality should be
"accepted," a much tamer question than whether to approve civil
unions or gay marriages: 49 percent say yes, and 41 percent, no. On what
has become a crucial test of a society's inclusiveness and tolerance,
the United States lags well behind every Western European country, as
well as many Eastern European and most Latin American countries. Catholic
Mexico is far more accepting, with 60 percent saying yes, and only 31
percent, no.
The United States is becoming utterly unexceptional
on another issue—immigration. It's not really news that majorities
everywhere want to restrict and control immigration. But it is strange
that sentiment is as strong in the world's foremost nation of immigrants.
More Americans are against immigration than Frenchmen or Germans.
There are areas where Americans—or at least the
American right—cherishes the notion that we are exceptional. We sometimes
think that we alone believe that "sometimes military force is necessary
to maintain order in the world." Some 77 percent of Americans polled
agreed. As did 90 percent of Indians, 74 percent of Turks and Indonesians,
80 percent of Kuwaitis, 75 percent of Swedes and 73 percent of Italians.
We have a unique skepticism about government, right? Well, many others
have acquired it too: 65 percent of Americans say that the government
has too much power, as do the same number of French and many more Germans.
Two out of three Americans believe in protecting the environment even
if it slows economic growth. The number is about the same for the French
and the Japanese.
The most startling aspect here is the trend. The United
States has had the biggest drop in support for trade among all countries
surveyed since 2002. On some of the other issues—like immigration—the
data suggest that American attitudes have shifted even more sharply. All
of this points to a stunning lack of political leadership.
Foreign companies and foreigners—as well as expanding
trade, travel and markets—are all going to be a large part of the
21st century. Look around. If you update the current ranking of the 10
richest people in the world, you will find that eight of them are now
non-Americans and every one is an entrepreneur. The natives have gotten
very good at capitalism.
The task of our political leaders is to make Americans understand this new world and explain how the United States has thrived and will continue to thrive in it. They should be equipping Americans to compete in the world rather than blaming others and turning inward. Instead, the Republican presidential contenders fan fears about foreigners and immigrants. The Democrats demonize free trade. And the American public gets more and more spooked and less and less prepared for the world we're entering..
