The big ten: the case for pragmatic idealism.

• Author: Baker, III, James A.
• Position: Essay

THE PRINCIPLES that guide American foreign policy during the coming years will determine how successful the United States will be as it addresses the complex global challenges that confront us. A foreign policy simply rooted in values without a reasonable rationale of concrete interests will not succeed. But our foreign policy will also fail if it too narrowly focuses on the national interest and disregards the role that democratic ideals and human rights play in establishing a more secure world. These truths will confront the next president regardless of his or her political party. He or she will face an international environment in which the use or misuse of American power in all its manifestations--military, diplomatic and economic--will bear decisively on our national security and on global stability.

The United States will likely remain the pre-eminent global power for some time. But how we wield that unparalleled capability will determine exactly how long we remain at the front of the international pack.

Despite setbacks and doubts associated with the ongoing Iraq War, the most significant phenomenon shaping global affairs today remains the uniquely preeminent position of the United States. Compared to earlier superpowers--ancient Rome, Napoleonic France and Britain just prior to World War I--we possess far greater advantages over potential rivals.

The United States is the world's economic powerhouse. Our output represents almost a quarter of global GDP. Moreover, our performance over the last two decades has significantly outpaced that of our traditional competitors such as Japan and the countries of Western Europe. And, despite the scandals that rocked corporate America earlier in this decade, we remain at the forefront of economic efficiency, innovation and entrepreneurship. In the last decade, American companies have created trillions of dollars in new wealth by spearheading products that are driving the information-technology revolution.

No other advanced industrial power--and no rising power--can match us in the military arena. The defeat of the Taliban and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein clearly demonstrate our unparalleled ability. to project decisive force across vast distances. No other countries even begin to approach this capability today, nor will they for years--if not decades--to come. China's defense build-up, for instance, is significant and bears close watching. But Beijing is still far from being able to challenge us in east Asia, much less other critical regions like the Persian Gulf.

Moreover, despite concerns about America "being alone", we still continue to exert immense diplomatic influence in the global arena. The United States enjoys strong and durable bilateral relationships with a host of friendly countries-including key European states, Japan and, more recently, India. And we also play a leadership role in international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and NATO.

Last but not least, we represent an ideology--free-market democracy--without a serious global rival. Communism, our old international adversary, has been swept into the dustbin of history. No other ideology with a universal reach has risen to take its place. Yes, Islamic fundamentalism is a potent force. But, by definition, its appeal is limited to countries with significant Muslim populations.

It is true that the model of free-market democracy is clearly not triumphant everywhere. But the trend over recent decades has unmistakably been in the direction of democracy and free markets--even in states that are still far from achieving these goals. Today's China, however authoritarian, is a far cry from the China of Mao's Cultural Revolution. We need only compare regions like Eastern Europe and Latin America with what they were a quarter century ago to appreciate the broad, if imperfect and incomplete, trend towards market democracy. This is true even with the recent backsliding that we have witnessed, say, in parts of Latin America.

In short, today there is no country or group of countries that can challenge our...