Just Politics

[janice shell]

Yes, I think Brooks's article captures Biden's beliefs and goals well.

But these days, I think it's fair to say that most successful nations are mixed economies. That only makes sense. On the one hand, we need to protect people in the lower and middle classes, to make sure they have affordable educational and job opportunities, and to provide a social safety net for children, the disabled, and the elderly. On the other, we don't want to stifle innovation and ambition.

The progressives think we should be socialists. I've yet to see a country emerge as a world leader that thought along those lines.

To some extent, I believe Canada is a world leader. Australia is up-and-coming. Great Britain and France aren't the players on the world stage they once were, but face it: things change. Empires rise and fall. The key, I think is to adapt and change, while preserving your nation's founding principles.

Way too many Americans seem to think nobody's rich in socialist countries. Of course they are. There're lots of rich people in Italy. There's also also a better social safety net than ours. And people don't feel driven to work 12 hours a day. They get at least a month of paid vacation, in addition to other holidays.

How important is it to be a superpower? That's a difficult question to answer.