I'm just wondering if the US has gotten any advatage out of it's superpower, now "hyperpower" status and the various military engagements we've been in.

Or,to phrase what I'm really asking, are there any advantages for the US that other western countries, say New Zealand, do not get to enjoy equally?

Well, this is a big one to fill...

The US gets a huge amount of advantages that other Western powers do not enjoy. Because of its complete military superiority, it can act with relative impunity politically, as can be seen in its disregard for the UN with the war in Iraq and its consistent policy of vetoing resolutions that affect its interests (note that this applies to all the permanent members of the security council.) This military superiority also enables it to set up military bases all over the world. Of note are the large numbers of air and naval bases in Italy, in places like Aviano and Naples, or in Japan, in Okinawa. The special status afforded to America can be seen in the passive reaction the Japanese govt. has to the repeated counts of rape and sexual harassment perpetrated by US marines stationed in Okinawa.

Economically speaking, being the richest nation on earth means that all other economies revolve around the US the dollar standard in oil trading effectively gives the US a blank cheque when it comes to securing loans from other countries. In addition, the huge amount of trade that the US engages in gives it a privileged position in international economic institutions like the IMF, World Bank and WTO. It has effective veto power in the first two, which give votes on the basis of economic wealth, and it is essentially invulnerable to the negative effects of the WTO. (this is because the WTO assigns punishments in the form of trade retaliation. In effect, if one country is found guilty of unfair trade regulations, then the victim is allowed to retaliate. Imagine this situation between a country like Liberia and America. If America stops trading with Liberia, it's screwed. If Liberia stops trading with America, it couldn't care less.)

Socially speaking I guess we're all speaking English, right? The huge cultural power the US has is the subject of study of many Marxists who argue that it's 'cultural imperialism'. Any way you look at it, US culture, in the form of hamburgers, rock bands, video games, etc., is everywhere, and has few competitors. French may be the language of diplomacy, but English (American) is still the language of business.

Just scratching the surface...

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it is a mistake to throw out the language of equal worth because of its contingent historical association with Western power.

Granted it's our status as a power that got us our position in the UN. But have we ever turned that to our interests economically or for some other benefit other than being able to engage in even more military actions that ultimately benefit other nations as well?

Obviously being huge trade wise provides many advantages, but that's separate from our military/CIA type prowess.

I guess I'm looking for something like "Kuwait sells us oil at a far lower rate now than they did before we saved them from Sadam but they charge everyone else the same".

Now to avoid the risk of a derail. I'm not saying that the US should dismantle our military or something. There have been definite benefits to our actions in the past and likely present. It's just a matter of whether we've get anything in particular for ourselves or if the rest of the west gets to freeload.

In general, I think it's better to be the hyperpower than to let someone else be the hyperpower. Some countries may get a free ride from the Pax Americana, but in the end that means they're dependent on, and vulnerable to, us. They're essentially counting on our good nature. I'd rather be us than them.

By crowding out serious competitors we damp down the amount and extent of global conflicts, providing a more peaceable planet. As the largest economy that benefits us, as we don't have regional wars constantly screwing up trade.

You could argue that the cost isn't worth it, but I don't like the alternative much.

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Man up.

No longer is that even true. English is the language of business and diplomacy, yet another benefit.

EVERYTHING we do is for economic benefit, not just some of that interest. It's not like all money is spent on the military. As a result, the US is the richest country in the world.

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"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

--Murray Rothbard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinny. A liberal is just a libertarian who hasn't studied economics.

I was just being idiomatic. No one really uses french for anything nowadays, apart from describing wine and trying to get laid.

Also, whether the rest of the world is 'freeloading' off the US being the world policeman, or whether we're suffering under US hegemony is a matter of opinion. Y'all seem to hold the former. I'm with the latter, mostly. Although the US would definitely be better than China.

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it is a mistake to throw out the language of equal worth because of its contingent historical association with Western power.

Europe freeloaded off of the US during the Cold War especially for defense. Especially Iceland whose entire defense was paid for by the US up until a few years ago.

Other English speaking states like New Zealand, Canada, and Australia probably could have been at a similar level as the US except that they have far fewer people. Canada with 33 million, Australia with 20 million, and New Zealand with 4 million. Also they were under Great Britain until the beginning of the 20th century (middle of 19th century for Canada). Germany and Italy of course have the misfortune of having lost WW2 which put them back a ways. The rest of Europe was overrun by either Fascists/Nazis during WW2 or Communists during WW2 and the beginning of the Cold War which put them back.

One of the biggest contributors to the power of the US aside from being the main force behind the Allied victory in WW2 and the leadership during the Cold War is probably the population. While nowhere near the two most populated states, China and India, since they both have over 1 billion each, the US still has the third largest population with 303 million. The next closest, Indonesia with 237 million, could not be a world power for a number of reasons such as being occupied by Japan, poverty, four decades of authoritarian rule, and others.

Also, the United States is responsible for many of the inventions/discoveries that people use every day including electricity, lights, the telephone, computers, the internet, the mass production of the automobile, and more.

Its also the source of 25 percent of the world's resources being used up less efficiently because of our pompous leaders recently

And more aid to Africa than ever.

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"We consider this our duty - to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance, violence, and fanaticism." -Ahmed Shah Massoud
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The inventions are cool and all. But they don't really have to do with being a military hyperpower.

I suppose it could be true that as an especially large economy we benifit more from world stability. I dunno though.