First, education is crucial to success, especially higher education, if you look at nation's that are consider EDC'S, have high literacy rates, more students in higher education and a more educated society will have the better capability to deal with the nation dilemmas. Second, the health of your nation is very important, probably the most important. Health care for your people is vital for a nation's stability. You cannot lead your nation to success with a rapid spread of disease or people who are malnutrition. Third, is to have a strong and stable political system, to collect taxes, to invest and to be more involved in trade. These 3 areas are intertwined, to have more people in higher education you have more doctors to deal with health issues and more educated people to deal with the nation's economic situation. In "Has Democracy a Future", Arthur Schlesinger says that democracy has barely survived the twentieth century but will enjoy a more promising future in the 21st century. However, he states democracy will have to manage the strain of race tension, especially in the U.S., technology and capitalism. There are more democracy's today then there have ever been, rather or not it will remain that will is another question. In America I feel it will survive, but not with major bumps in road. One argument in article I agree with is that technology and computers with destroy more jobs then it creates. As a result, people will blame others different from themselves for their misfortunes and will create even more racial tension. However, as we lead toward the 21st century, I feel race tensions will diminish greatly, partly because of intermarriage between people with different races and cultures. It also seems that the younger generation is more open to people and cultures that is different. I disagree with the author however on the point that globalization will lead people to retreat to their own familiar settings. I feel that globalization is good for the world to be introduced to new cultures and societies and will break taboos and stereotypes. In "Why America Thinks It Has to Run The World", Benjamin Schwarz discusses the importance of a continued U.S. world leadership to maintain a global economy. One of the arguments was we must continue to dominate the international system and to discourage other nations to challenge our leadership role in the international system. For instance, America must do exactly as they did in the past, by addressing conflicts that threaten our interests, our allies interests and those that will interrupt the international system. In a time of globalization, multinational corporations, IGO'S, NGO'S and more of a shift toward a free trade market it is essential to have a stable international system. In order to have a stable system you must have a safe global arena to do business and to have a safe arena you must have someone to keep it safe. Since, we are the major superpower of the world we have to maintain the peace and ensure the stability of the global markets. We have to protect our allies, even though some of them have no immediate threat of danger. I feel it is important to spend billions of dollars on our forces around the globe to retain our dominance and to ensure nobody try's to challenge our leadership in the global arena. Also, by keep ensuring the safety of our allies it keep them from forming there own military forces if they had to protect themselves. In conclusion, the United States is in the best and worst situation leading in the 21st century. The future looks very promising for our economy in more ways of more trade, less protectionism and better technology and communications. However, the world will look to the U.S. as the saver or as the virtue enemy. To our allies we must keep them as our friends, to our enemies we must keep them down and impose our will on them. We must limit weapons of mass destruction, which seems to be the number one threat to our global stability. Finally, we must assistance other nation's to achieve political, social and economical success.
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