Andrew J. Bacevich, in “The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism,” more particularly in the chapter “The Crisis of Profligacy,” dives into the political and economic aftereffects of the sheer amount of entitlement in American society. He argues that this entitlement or profligacy that persists in the American society plays a vital role in creating a society that is individualistic and selfish and one that does not consider the needs of others. This, in turn, is reflected in USA’s foreign policy, and a quote from the same chapter mentioned above describes exactly the nature of both of a typical American, which also encapsulates the behavior of USA in the world stage, the quote also contains the words of Alexis De Tocqueville, it is “.. Touring the United States in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville, astute observer of the young Republic, noted the “feverish ardor” of its citizens to accumulate. Even as the typical American “clutches at everything,” the Frenchman wrote, ”he holds nothing fast, but soon loosens his grasp to pursue fresh gratifications.” However munificent his possessions, the American hungered for more…” (Bacevich).
In the case of USA’s foreign policy, it is indeed true to say that the “actions of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden” were and are not the reasons why USA finds itself involved in a “ never-ending conflict”. Its foreign policy is actually heavily influenced by a variety of factors, such as its economic interests, particularly in the huge oil reserves of the Middle East, as securing them will grant them overall economic governance and will ensure the USA doesn’t run out of oil. Moreover, the USA’s military power, which is considered to be the finest in the world, is seen by the leaders of the USA as a means to establish global dominance in the name of American Freedom. It is written in the chapter, ”In the name of preserving the American way of Life, President Bush and his lieutenants committed the nation to a breathtaking ambitious project of near global domination, hewing to a tradition… they intended to expand American power to further the cause of American freedom…”. Furthermore, one more thing that’s really important that describes USA’s interventionalist nature is that USA feels it needs has a duty of spreading democracy in the world. In addition, the connection between “ Freedom” at home and “Empire” abroad is also driven, as aforementioned, by the USA’s dependency on, for example, oil reserves of the Middle East, plus the USA’s tendency to spread democracy, justifies its huge military spending (Bacevich).
In conclusion, there is obviously a way out for the USA from these “forever wars.” One of the first things to do is to reduce military interventions and only intervene if not intervening really threatens the USA’s national security. Furthermore, one more thing to do should be to reduce the USA’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil reserves and to explore other energy resources, e.g., Solar energy, geothermal plants, etcetera.
Will Wright 