Americans tuning out the world

Foreigners have long bemoaned the "isolationist" attitude of Americans - over the last several decades, that isolation has deepened. Americans now pay less attention to international affairs, and read less foreign news than at any time in the last two generations. Fewer Americans go overseas or study a foreign language at university. Americans are becoming relatively less - not more - engaged with the world in general.

... since the days of ancient Rome, it is an axiom of political science that economic well-being dulls the appetite of citizens to participate in civil affairs. The implications, however, are disturbing. Can America shape a responsible foreign policy with such an uninformed electorate? The world may be turning into a "global village," but the average American has moved to the suburbs.

- Americans moving out to the suburbs? As Jim Kunstler will tell you, that's exactly what they have done. As far as a peakoiler is concerned, the question inevitably turns up - what is the date of Peak Empire? And what might BRIC have to do with it?

(2005-12-01 17:29:38 SGT) [Musings] Permalink

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