To me, I feel like Trump is cashing out American’s soft power, like maxing out the credit of a credit card called Soft Power, which takes centuries to build American’s credit among international communities and allies, even among enemies and opponents.
Soft power can't be measured on a balance sheet or deployed on a battlefield, but it's power at its essence.
Quote: "Open source is the equivalent of soft power in tech, like how movies and food is often the source of soft power in foreign relations. Having the confidence, generosity, and self-assuredness to share technology for free and show people how to build their own version of it may seem like a dumb business decision, but it is a brilliant way to accrue mindshare, build a lasting brand, increase your install base, and, frankly, just do something good for the world."
I wonder if other regional powers like China will tilt their efforts more towards soft power or hard power. This is a generational opportunity for China to regain goodwill and build some partnerships where possible. Although, China could see the US pivoting towards hard power and run that awful Wolf Warrior Diplomacy thing again.
The biggest loss of soft power is manifested in Europe. Now that the guarantee of 'hard power' protection is gone, Europe is looking to get rid of the US soft power and boost it's own.
A bit like a younger brother who realizes the protective older brother is not a superhero and you don't need to always be on his side.
Your implicit distinction between US soft and hard power is too stark. In reality, they've always coexisted. Many people just preferred to look past that fact for myriad reasons.
For example, the Gulf War ended a mere two years before TSMC's first US plant, and the invasion of Panama was four years before that.
In 1998, Michel Camdessus loomed over Suharto as he signed (Google the pic for echoes of your C.C. Wei snip) up to IMF tutelage. Wrongly, I must mention, the IMF is seen as a tool of US Imperial actions.
Finally, King Abdullah was in the Oval Office as a supplicant due to the US M/E presence and their explicit guarantee of Israeli regional dominance. The invasion of the M/E and the War on Terror, 'with us or against us', not to mention that on drugs which preceded it, was hard power to the nth!
If 'soft power' was all that counted, Brazil and Switzerland would be the most popular nations on earth!
The recent changes are simply downstream of the fact that for the first time in human history, the USA has another country whose stock of human and material capital rivals the US.
The Americans were never special outside of being the best-trained humans in the largest unified economic and linguistic zone. There are now two such places on the planet. Accordingly, their slate of technological achievements and mind share are increasingly on par.
That's to be expected. We should all wish for that to continue!
To me, I feel like Trump is cashing out American’s soft power, like maxing out the credit of a credit card called Soft Power, which takes centuries to build American’s credit among international communities and allies, even among enemies and opponents.
correct. that's why I frame American soft power as "peaked". It still exists, lots to draw from, but not growing more.
It's going to take a lot of time to come back from Trump's foreign relations. It represents a period of incredible opportunity for China.
Soft power can't be measured on a balance sheet or deployed on a battlefield, but it's power at its essence.
Quote: "Open source is the equivalent of soft power in tech, like how movies and food is often the source of soft power in foreign relations. Having the confidence, generosity, and self-assuredness to share technology for free and show people how to build their own version of it may seem like a dumb business decision, but it is a brilliant way to accrue mindshare, build a lasting brand, increase your install base, and, frankly, just do something good for the world."
I wonder if other regional powers like China will tilt their efforts more towards soft power or hard power. This is a generational opportunity for China to regain goodwill and build some partnerships where possible. Although, China could see the US pivoting towards hard power and run that awful Wolf Warrior Diplomacy thing again.
Good insight 😌 Can i translate part of this article into Spanish with links to you and a description of your newsletter?
Yes
The biggest loss of soft power is manifested in Europe. Now that the guarantee of 'hard power' protection is gone, Europe is looking to get rid of the US soft power and boost it's own.
A bit like a younger brother who realizes the protective older brother is not a superhero and you don't need to always be on his side.
Your implicit distinction between US soft and hard power is too stark. In reality, they've always coexisted. Many people just preferred to look past that fact for myriad reasons.
For example, the Gulf War ended a mere two years before TSMC's first US plant, and the invasion of Panama was four years before that.
In 1998, Michel Camdessus loomed over Suharto as he signed (Google the pic for echoes of your C.C. Wei snip) up to IMF tutelage. Wrongly, I must mention, the IMF is seen as a tool of US Imperial actions.
Finally, King Abdullah was in the Oval Office as a supplicant due to the US M/E presence and their explicit guarantee of Israeli regional dominance. The invasion of the M/E and the War on Terror, 'with us or against us', not to mention that on drugs which preceded it, was hard power to the nth!
If 'soft power' was all that counted, Brazil and Switzerland would be the most popular nations on earth!
The recent changes are simply downstream of the fact that for the first time in human history, the USA has another country whose stock of human and material capital rivals the US.
The Americans were never special outside of being the best-trained humans in the largest unified economic and linguistic zone. There are now two such places on the planet. Accordingly, their slate of technological achievements and mind share are increasingly on par.
That's to be expected. We should all wish for that to continue!