Most everyone knows that America is not very popular abroad right now, and hasn’t been for the past several years. Just ask any American who has travelled abroad recently. From Davos to Delhi, the general current perspective is that America is on the decline and other countries (such as China and India) will be the global leaders of tomorrow.
While I certainly agree that countries like India and China will continue to gain importance and power as their economic power increases to levels consistent with their massive populations, I disagree with this pessimistic view of the future of America.
I am an Indian born immigrant to America myself and based on what I’ve learned and seen of the world and America, I believe the American framework of life, liberty and opportunity is superior to the socio-economic frameworks in place most anywhere else.
The election of Barack Obama as US President is but one example of the beauty of the American framework….and this example is repeated daily, in ways small and big, by those who weren’t born into money or power but who gain opportunity and success in America as a result purely of their hard work and smarts.
As the economic crisis works it’s way around the world and once fast developing countries slow down and deal with the now-more-apparent weaknesses in their own social, economic and legal frameworks….I actually think America’s reputation abroad will improve.
