Our Society Reimagined 2019: Striking a Balance – America’s Role in a Globalized World
Our Society Reimagined is a four-week series that provides an opportunity to explore the domestic issues that have shaped our modern society, as well as a chance to gain perspective on the underlying values and ideas that we hold as individuals and as a society, and how these tenets shape our lives.
Wednesday, November 6: Striking a Balance – America’s Role in a Globalized World
As we explore the individual-versus-community conundrum in America, how should we consider the broader global “community?” Many experts argue the working and middle classes of the world have seen their lives improved by America’s role in building a liberal democratic order and organized international trade. The US military has stabilized trouble spots around the world at the expense of Americans. American universities have educated the world and shared technology to accelerate the development of competing economies, while the burden of student debt and admissions competition weighs on our own citizens, and some of these competing economies are beginning to rival our own. Does the balance need to change to favor American citizens?
Many global problems know no border. Climate change and population migrations, pandemics, pollution, nuclear weapons, terrorism, trade financing, and free passage in the seas are all examples of the need for international leadership. Is it time for the US to leave it to the next generation of world leaders to find solutions to these global problems while we address issues at home? Can our economy succeed without our participation in addressing these global challenges? Can we turn a blind eye to the breakdowns in societies across the world where terrorism and destabilizing migrations are the expected outcomes?
The benefits of global economic development have resulted in an uneven distribution of benefits, and the political costs of those disparities are weighing on liberal democracies around the world—in America, the working and middle classes are bearing the brunt of it. What would it look like if the middle class were to fight to re-establish their position in the world? Is it possible to re-energize globalization politically by creating a more balanced distribution of benefits? Will multinational corporations racing to the lowest common denominators of low taxes and limited regulations render local governments ineffective in addressing community needs?
This week’s discussion will explore the balance of a focus on our individual country and our role as members of the world community.
Tom Morrison and Clint Kinney will moderate the series.
Fee: $99, includes all sessions, reading materials, and refreshments. Scholarships available. Register here.
