Agricultural Economics—Without Apology
I am taking a ten-day hiatus from blogging in order to spend time with loved ones over the holidays. I will be back on December 31 to celebrate this blog’s first anniversary.
Until then, Happy Holidays to each and every one of you — may the new year bring you health and happiness!
There is no way over the long term that Americans will be or should be prepared to endure greater relative poverty in a free trading world when they also have to pay almost the entire cost of global order and stability required to uphold it. There comes a point at which the Western Man’s burden becomes being taken for a ride. For the US to deny its seniors medical care, to sleight its infrastructure renewal, and depress investment in the economy in order to keep the global economy militarily stable for China and India and Europe (…). It makes no sense. We have to move back from a Department of Offense and Empire to a Department of Defense and Security. We need to let go of paranoia. The cycle of fear has already done immeasurable damage to the Constitution, the economy and regional stability and security (watch Iraq and Afghanistan implode in the next few years).
Andrew Sullivan, in a post over at the Daily Dish in which he discusses Ron Paul’s approach to foreign policy in a multi-polar world.
Andrew’s post reminded me of a conversation I had with a colleague when I traveled to Israel a few years ago to give a talk.