End of the “American Century”

At the start of the post WWII era, the United States led the world to establish a political and economic order for freer trade, military cooperation, and economic development in low income countries. The program was far from perfect, but it gave the world decades of growth, expansion, and increased freedom and opportunity. More people in more countries raised their living standards more significantly than in any other period of human history. Freer trade and avoidance of major wars benefited people everywhere. The U.S. leadership is nevertheless much weaker now. Countries cannot agree on trade treaties to remove further barriers, and the growing size and importance of several countries with diverse interests make agreements harder to reach. Terrorism in parts of the world restricts the spread of markets. A likely outcome will be slower growth of the world economy in the future.