The United States did not become a superpower because it loved freedom. It became a superpower because its founders understood power.
And they understood very early on that true power requires others to fear you. And to do that you need to wage war -far away from your own borders. And you need to loot others to fund those wars. And keep the by products like defence sales.
That is why Venezuela was taken over to fund the Iran war. Iran war could send crude prices soaring. This will take the steam out of the overheated Chinese and Indian economy, strengthen stranglehold over the Middle East countries through Israel. And increase oil revenues for USA and their allies like Venezuela and Norway.
The Federalist Papers reveal a vision that is often forgotten. Liberty was never meant to exist without a strong, competent, and energetic state. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay believed that commerce, security, and national greatness required institutions capable of decisive action.
Hamilton warned that America needed the strength to prevent other nations from “clipping the wings by which we might soar to a dangerous greatness.”
That phrase is remarkably relevant today.
Note the adjective “dangerous”
A synonym is “much feared”
Till the underworld actually kills a few people, no one will take their threat seriously. Once it is clear that they kill at will – the threat is taken seriously. There was a time when an incoming call from Dubai would instill fear in any Bombay businessman. What no one asked is how such criminals were freely operating from Dubai and why we didn’t impose sanctions on them. That is a topic for a subsequent post. And the situation is far graver than we can imagine.
While many countries debate ideals, the United States continues to invest in the foundations of power: technology, capital markets, research universities, military capability, energy security, and control over global standards.
Freedom created opportunity. Institutions converted opportunity into power. Power generated prosperity. Standards generated a stranglehold. Monopoly on big tech and mobile operating systems strengthened that stranglehold.
For countries like India, the lesson is uncomfortable but important.
Nations are rarely respected because they are morally right. They are respected because they are economically, technologically, and institutionally strong. UK has lost relevance because their economy is failing, population is ageing and they have been reduced to the status of an American colony – like Bangladesh. But Britain is capable of a lot more -for which they will need to re align. – away from the U.S.
The real question is not whether India wants to become a great power.
It is whether we are willing to build the capabilities that make greatness possible.
And those capabilities cannot be built in a hurry or without risk capital. Technological might is a necessary but not sufficient condition.
