U.S. mortgages its sovereignty

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By KENNETH H. TORP
GUEST COLUMNIST

The official philosophy of the government presided over by George W. Bush views the United States as standing outside of history -- unfettered by traditional forces that dictate the rise and fall of civilizations and immune to the limits imposed on great powers by the broad sweep of historical trends.

According to this view, the United States is unique, and uniquely good, and constitutes a singular exception in the history of mankind. It can thus exercise its superior power unilaterally without worrying overly much about long-range consequences or the views of other nations. Never mind that "exceptionalism" requires a breathtaking ethnocentrism; it is, quite simply, unsustainable in the context of a global market economy.

The international financial system, for example, doesn't give a fig for U.S. "exceptionalism." Rather, it operates on its own set of principles that are resolutely market-based and transnational.

The "exceptionalists" may believe they have repealed history but the laws of economics are not so easily ignored. A chesty Vice President Cheney tells us that the United States will never ask for a permission slip before acting in its own self-interest. But even a cursory look at U.S. fiscal and trade numbers leads to the conclusion that the economic policies of the Bush administration already have reduced our economic sovereignty. The "exceptionalists" are simply whistling in the graveyard.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/202096_ourplace03.html

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Our leader speaks:

"...sovereignty means just that; it's sovereign. You're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity.

http://www.totalobscurity.com/mind/news/2004/bush-given.htm

[Maple]

2. It's easy to claim

sovereignty, and it's easy to lose it. Many nations have done both in history, and the US is no exception.

[Mari333]

3. Bush is like the Economic Captain of the USDeficitTitanic..

down down down the USA goes.......

[KT2000]

4. Terrific Commentary

but where was this commentary before the election?

There is another factor - China makes most of our crap! They will really have us over a barrel - and soon.

[HamdenRice]

5. How DARE you question ...

this President's economic policy. DON'T you KNOW that God tells W what to do and therefore W is infallible?!!??