Pax Americana endures: American freedom and creativity have led to unparalleled prosperity around the world

In the ancient world, the Pax Romana was a period of history in which the western countries, under the influence of the Roman Empire, enjoyed 200 years of relative peace, stability and prosperity. Beginning with its establishment under Caesar Augustus and ending with the death of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Pax Romana was marked by lower levels of violence, increased trade and territorial expansion that saw supreme Rome control nearly one-third of the world’s population.

Since then, there have been a number of similarly named eras, but none as powerful as the current one: Pax Americana. Often dating from the end of World War II in 1945, Pax Americana is an era of peace, prosperity and progress that the American power has given the world since joining with our allies to kill fascism and confront communism. Many predict this era will culminate with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and end with the Iraq War in the early 2000s. But as Pax Americana turns 80, it now seems alive, well and ready to ensure America’s second century.

That’s a good thing to be honest. Americans are losing faith in their institutions, but they should not doubt the great good their country has created for the world. America’s global dominance has produced the most enduring period in world history. The seeds of Pax Americana came at the end of the Civil War when the United States purged its worst and most illegal institution, the US soon entered the industrial and revolutionary era. Businessmen like Rockefeller and Carnegie became some of the richest men in history—Rockefeller’s Standard Oil was once the leader in the global oil market. And America began to play an important political and economic role in the world. American leaders like Washington and Lincoln loom large in international thought. Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War. The US played an important role in WWI. And while Woodrow Wilson’s mistakes contributed greatly to World War II, in 1945 America was the most powerful country in history.

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Economically, we peaked at more than 50% of the world’s GDP and held 80% of the world’s hard currency. We built a highly evolved industrial and scientific base that made the US a world innovator and exporter. Our universities have emerged as the best in the world. And American culture – as transmitted by Hollywood – spread like wildfire to foreign countries. We also developed the most fearsome weapon in history and our military was second to none, causing far fewer casualties than countries like Russia, Germany and Japan.

What have we done with that power? Almost any other country in history would have used it to crush and dominate the world. The Americans did not. Through the Marshall Plan we released tax dollars to rebuild Europe. America has never held ground. We stopped using our main weapon after the war in the Pacific. America helped rebuild Japan, then gave it back to the Japanese. We then developed military alliances and international aid programs that allowed the world to stand firm against the horrors of Soviet and Chinese Communism. The biggest dark marks of the post-War era were the domestic massacres and famines that occurred under Stalin and Mao, without the American security umbrella. American inventors like Norman Borlaug helped lift billions out of poverty. We put men on the moon. And the world entered an era that was safer, healthier and more prosperous than any in human history.

And while the United States does not currently boast the level of dominance it enjoyed emerging from the ashes of World War II, we remain a world. We are 4% of the world’s population and 26% of its GDP. As other developed nations in Europe and Asia have declined, we have continued to accelerate – so much so that countries like Japan, the UK and Germany would rank among America’s poorest states. Some of the world’s best startups are American—founded by native-born citizens and newcomers alike. And now we are so dominant in the most critical areas of global innovation – artificial intelligence, space, robotics, biotechnology and a host of other fields – that we often outpace the rest of the world combined. Our military is still the largest and most advanced military in history. And our natural resources and domestic productive capacity make us one of the most blessed and self-sufficient nations in the world. The dollar is still the world’s currency. Our universities are still the best. Our elections and traditions are watched with the same attention in the world as it is on our shores. And we have maintained our moral base far better than most of our peers.

Meanwhile, America’s rivals have stumbled. The Soviet Union, which felt the most threatening during the century, collapsed – today’s Russia, a sad oligarchic echo of the evil empire that once threatened to enslave Europe. Japan, a (friendly) economic rival in the 1980s entered a decade of stagnation, as America roared. The European Union, created in the 1990s to compete (albeit as an alliance) with the United States, has also stagnated with only a few countries (such as non-EU Switzerland) keeping pace. India and China have shown great persistence in their growth, but neither has emerged as a true challenger. China is the closest but showing signs of weakness. Rumors of internal debt problems persist (bad debt has long been a feature of “organized” economies and their economies have declined. The inhumane “one-child” policy is now ending population growth, threatening more than half of China’s population by the end of the century. The Communist Party has tightened its political grip on its people in a crushing way any green shoots of freedom. And China finds itself especially allied with dictators in North Korea, Iran and Russia as the NATO alliance is growing in power.The Pax Americana operating system – a fundamental belief in personal freedom, representative government, free enterprise, and human creativity – is an unparalleled totalitarianism.

Bull of Wall Street (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

America has stumbled at times. Our leadership is by no means perfect. We have fought battles that we probably shouldn’t have fought. Our domestic political system has become fragile and rigid. Our commitment to free speech and a free press has been challenged both politically by those who would shun the First Amendment in our government and culturally by corporations and media organizations who would readily sacrifice their freedom and independence for the temptations of power.

But we are probably amazingly good for the nation in our own strength. We continue to roam around growing our country based on shared ideas instead of blood. We are perhaps the most racially and ethnically tolerant and most diverse country in the world and within a generation most newcomers think of themselves and are viewed as other Americans – not Koreans, Indians, British, or Argentines. We are major supporters of both international institutions (through our government) and international philanthropy (through the generosity of our people). We use our military power carefully. We fund or create the majority of medical innovations and technological advances. Perhaps most importantly, with our military strength and the strength of our allies, we remain the protection of this world against the violence and violence of those who would disarm instead of supporting the freedom of others. If you doubt the desirability of Pax Americana, consider America’s military and economic dominance in the hands of China, Russia, or Iran. It can be a very dark and different world.

There are internal threats to our power. Our debts and lack of funds can cripple us. Our political inaction may destroy our wonderful legal institutions—which have held sway for over 200 years. Our people can lose our sense of shared values ​​and our conviction in the goodness of our cause. We can culturally collapse into the kind of economic and social stagnation that plagues many developed countries today. We may split up and become Balkan as a country rather than united.

But I don’t think we will. We have faced these threats before. And often this government “of the people, again, again” has persisted – our freedom and creativity allow us to stay two steps ahead of the dark forces that threaten our world. With any luck, this period of incomparable peace, fostered by a more perfect unity than ever before Rome, will continue unbroken, allowing millions of millions to flourish and flourish.

Have confidence, Americans. Be positive. As the United States approaches its quarter of a millennium, the Pax Americana persists. Our challenge now as ever, is to preserve that wonderful time of peace and prosperity and to keep America – and the world – both good and great.