 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
MICRO-MANAGING CHINAA week ago Friday Steve Forbes came to the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda to deliver what was billed as a major foreign policy address on the U.S. relationship with China. I attended and had a brief grip-and-grin with the candidate afterward. To give him whatever credit is due, it was a thoughtful, nuanced address, not one of those in-search-of-the-new-enemy now that the Cold War is over demonizations so common in certain sectors of the American so-called right. But the policies he advocated still envision a larger role for the United States in promoting democracy overseas than is consistent with his stated desire – as he had said the previous day at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley – "tear down the walls of big government so America may truly experience a new birth of freedom and opportunity.'' Mr. Forbes summed up his China policy as "no more business as usual.'' In essence it is to "begin using the economic and diplomatic tools at our disposal to effect real change in China: tough sanctions on Chinese military-owned companies ... tough sanctions on Chinese companies using slave labor ... tough sanctions on Chinese companies trafficking in weapons of mass destruction ... and continuous, high-profile condemnations of Chinese human rights abuses in every international forum possible.'' He would promise to defend Taiwan from an attack by the mainland regime, deploy missile defense systems, make sure the US remains the dominant military power in the Pacific and try to prevent a Chinese company from running the Panama Canal. He would admit Taiwan into the World Trade Organization and keep Beijing out for now. He would demand that China stop selling weapons to "rogue nations'' and end its domestic religious persecutions. THE WORLD POLICEMANSome of those goals are commendable. The question is whether the United States should use its military, diplomatic and economic power to force other nations to become more democratic, more respectful of human rights, more open to market transactions – or set an example of freedom, prosperity and cultural enrichment without trying to micro-manage the progress of other countries. It's not simply a theoretical problem. When other countries make changes due to force or pressure from outside rather than in response to demands and pressures from within, the changes are often superficial and temporary rather than lasting and genuine. And if the United States is busy trying to tell other countries how to manage their domestic affairs, it is less likely to be able to sustain a status as anything resembling a free republic or move in the direction of more freedom at home. Bossing other countries around requires taxpayer resources and establishes a habit of bossiness likely to be replicated against one's own citizens. It's one thing to attempt to influence others by persuasion and example, by pointing out shortcomings and lamenting the suffering of citizens under repressive regimes. Moving in the direction of trying to force them to be nice can lead to actions like the utterly unjustified and destructive bombing campaign against Kosovo. I still like Steve Forbes – maybe it's that goofy grin or the obvious desire to be liked. And I still think he is a thoughtful and serious candidate. But if he really desires, as he titled his new book, A Rebirth of Freedom,' he would do well to ponder the wisdom of former President John Quincy Adams, who urged that America be the friend of freedom everywhere but the guarantor only of its own. That's not isolationism but solid, down-to-earth practical advice about how the world really works.
Please Support Antiwar.comA contribution of $20 or more gets you a copy of Justin Raimondo's Into the Bosnian Quagmire: The Case Against US Intervention in the Balkans, a 60-page booklet packed with the kind of intellectual ammunition you need to fight the lies being put out by this administration and its allies in Congress. Send contributions to Antiwar.com or
Contribute Via our Secure Server |
