What are the main challenges with the current state of U.S. domestic politics? How can the U.S. adapt its systems to keep up with the times?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Thomas Friedman, the author of Thank You for Being Late<\/em>, U.S. domestic politics is currently experiencing political upheaval because the present political system was developed in slower times. As a result, it can\u2019t keep up with the three accelerations taking place in the world: 1) technology, 2) climate change, and 3) globalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we’ll discuss the current state of American domestic politics and what we could do to make it more functional in light of the three accelerations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In the 20th century, the U.S. political system centralized and nationalized political power and directed it towards big problems such as social programs.<\/strong> This was logical in the 20th century because smaller governments weren\u2019t very powerful\u2014certain individuals had more money than states and municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal power was further consolidated in the 21st century.<\/strong> The Great Depression\u2019s New Deal created national programs such as Social Security, and in World War II, even more responsibility shifted from smaller levels of government to the federal government as it tackled issues such as urban decay and pollution. Then, the Cold War created more federal responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All of the above events contributed to the maintenance of the two-party federal system. The Republicans oppose immigration, want to relax the rules on the market, and want to cut taxes, while the Democrats support social programs and regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the massive technological changes in 2007, the 2008 recession hit and politics stalled because leaders couldn\u2019t explain the situation to citizens and failed to implement policy changes, such as technology regulations, that would have helped people adapt. This left space for populists who promised to hold back changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US is currently experiencing political upheaval because the current political system was developed in slower times and can\u2019t keep up with the three accelerations. The two parties are too committed to their identities (and too reliant on their funders) to consider ideas that don\u2019t fit neatly into their platforms, and as a result, they\u2019re limiting the country\u2019s ability to adapt<\/a> because they won\u2019t consider compromising or starting from scratch. For example, some members of the Republication Party deny that one of the accelerations, climate change, is even happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In these accelerating times, we need to rethink U.S. domestic politics and culture by: 1) studying Mother Nature, which is one of the most adaptable and resilient systems on the planet, and 2) applying nature\u2019s adaptations to domestic politics and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mother Nature has enormous buffering capacities and many people, including the author, have looked to it for an example of how to handle accelerating change. To maintain dynamic stability, Mother Nature uses the following mechanisms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #1: Adaptability.<\/strong> Evolution is fueled by adaptation\u2014the organisms that have biological advantages, or that can figure out a behavioral advantage, find enough resources to survive long enough to reproduce. The organisms that don\u2019t adapt, or don\u2019t adapt well enough to compete with other organisms, die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #2: Bankruptcy. <\/strong>If an organism can\u2019t adapt fast enough, it dies off, which makes more resources available for stronger organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #3: Diversity.<\/strong> The more species there are in a particular area, the more resilient it is. This is because when there are many options, even if not every species can survive and adapt, at least some will be able to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #14: Ownership.<\/strong> Species all have a niche and habitat where they thrive, which you can think of them \u201cowning.\u201d When every organism is locked into its place, it\u2019s hard for a single introduced species or pollutant to destroy the whole system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #5: Federalism. <\/strong>Nature is made up of many small networks that make up larger ecosystems that make up even larger ecosystems. Every organism is part of multiple networks, and the network of networks is stabilizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #6: Entrepreneurship.<\/strong> If there\u2019s an open niche, some organism will find a way to fill it. Additionally, organisms are always testing out if they can coevolve\u2014if an experiment makes an ecosystem better, the change survives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanism #7: Interdependency.<\/strong> Interdependence can either be to the benefit of all parties or the detriment. Organisms in healthy interdependencies thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nature is brutal and a constant battle, so we can\u2019t apply Mother Nature\u2019s mechanisms exactly <\/em>the way they act in nature, but five of them are particularly transferable to domestic politics and culture. The countries that choose to leverage these apps will be the most successful in riding the three accelerations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Adaptation, in the context of domestic politics and culture, is the ability to learn from other cultures<\/strong>. As we\u2019ve learned in previous chapters, in the age of accelerations, we encounter new cultures more than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a country, culture, or individual is presented with a country, culture, or individual that\u2019s more successful in some way\u2014economic, military, and so on\u2014there are two possible responses: 1) try to learn from the more successful party, or 2) feel humiliated, blame the other party for deficiencies, and turn away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cultures that choose to learn from others<\/a> will do a better job of weathering the accelerations. <\/strong>For example, in the 19th century, when Japan opened to trade with other countries, Japanese politicians realized that their country was behind the West. Japan decided it wanted to match the West, so the country overhauled its society. It took decades, but in 1905, Japan had become strong enough to defeat Russia in war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diversity, in the context of domestic politics and culture, is having as wide a knowledge and talent pool as possible so that when there\u2019s a problem, someone will have a solution.<\/strong> (Note that diversity isn\u2019t simply about the existence <\/em>of multiple groups within a population, it also requires the interaction <\/em>of the multiple groups.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cultures that embrace diversity<\/a> will do a better job of weathering the accelerations.<\/strong> For example, when the Arab-Muslim world was most diverse (between the eighth and 13th centuries), it was one of the most advanced societies of the time. This was because Islamic scholars considered the work and teachings of a variety of other cultures, which gave them new ideas they could build upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the context of domestic politics and culture, ownership is feeling responsible for a space.<\/strong> When people feel like they own their space, whether that\u2019s their country or their education, the space is more resilient because people will take care of it and defend it from harm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, in Independence<\/a> Square in Kiev during the 2014 revolution, elderly women cleared the ice from the sidewalks so the protestors wouldn\u2019t slip. They cared about the space, so they maintained it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the context of domestic politics and culture, federalism is the assignment of responsibility between local, state, and federal governments. <\/strong>These three networks need to reevaluate their roles in order to weather the accelerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, the US federal government is hugely bureaucratic and too slow to keep up with the accelerations. State and local governments, on the other hand, have learned to react to change promptly<\/strong>. State and local governments are at the epicenters of the regions they\u2019re responsible for, so they notice change quickly, and they\u2019re well-equipped to address the change because: 1) new people with new knowledge now live in the US due to globalization, 2) they can access knowledge from anywhere because of the supernova, and 3) they can use all this knowledge to sponsor trade missions or reeducate their workforces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The federal level of government is still necessary, but its major role should become supporting development at other levels of government.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the context of domestic politics and culture, entrepreneurship is looking for solutions anywhere, regardless of party lines. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the author, the lines aren\u2019t between the left and right anymore, they\u2019re between openness and closedness, and to adapt, we need to choose openness\u2014openness to flows, the supernova, and innovation. He suggests we:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Create universal healthcare. <\/strong>This would simplify healthcare\u2014US companies would no longer need to provide healthcare to their employees and Medicare wouldn\u2019t be related to payroll. The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Label high-sugar foods with warnings about health problems. <\/strong>Diabetes costs $825 billion a year globally and global diabetes has been rising since 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Improve free trade. <\/strong>Free trade benefits the general public because it makes goods cheaper, but it also creates job loss. The steps to improving free trade include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Reform immigration. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Reform foreign aid by <\/strong>making aid conditional\u2014foreign countries only receive it if they commit to working towards gender equality and making family planning available to those who want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Improve infrastructure. <\/strong>Today\u2019s interest rates are low, so it\u2019s a good time to borrow $50 billion and put it towards grids, airports, and ports. This will also create jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Improve postsecondary education<\/strong>. The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. Open a \u201crace to the top\u201d contest<\/strong> between states with million-dollar prizes to encourage innovation in social technologies. For example, the contest might be to come up with the best way to retain workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9. Improve internet connectivity<\/strong>. Studies show that Internet access is directly related to economic growth. The steps to improving connectivity include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10. Strengthen gun control. <\/strong>Australia\u2019s gun control methods are effective and we should implement them too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11. Improve national security. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 12. Reform the tax system<\/strong> to incentivize desirable behavior and discourage undesirable behavior. These reforms will provide the funding for other points on this list. The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 13. Improve the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.<\/strong> These credits top up the income of low-income workers so that they don\u2019t fall into poverty, but also encourage people to work because they can make more money from their jobs than they would receive from the credit. Recent research found that the EITC is more beneficial for children\u2019s education than early childhood programs such as Head Start or prekindergarten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 14. Streamline laws and regulations. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 15. Reform bankruptcy laws and encourage entrepreneurship. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 16. Adjust national political campaigning. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 17. Implement electoral reform<\/a>. <\/strong>The steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\nHistory of Domestic Politics and Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Current State of Domestic Politics and Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Adapting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning From Mother Nature<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Applying Mother Nature\u2019s Mechanisms to Domestic Politics and Culture<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Adaptation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Diversity<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Ownership<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Federalism<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Entrepreneurship<\/h5>\n\n\n\n