Copernican/Ptolemaist Global Politics

David Ignatius compares astronomy to American foreign policy:

We Americans are sometimes like the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy. That is, we see the United States as the fixed center of the universe, with other nations and events revolving around us. I think it's one of our endearing qualities, this ebullient national self-centeredness -- except when it leads to errors in geopolitical navigation.

Much of the same rhetoric slights (ever so slightly) America. While laws of physics are difficult to refute, David's analogy is very easy to dismiss (as he readily admits in the article). Is America the fixed center of the universe, absolutely. I'm not sure how political, economic, and even cultural angles of U.S. can be seen otherwise. I think this mindset stems from an a priori assumption that we somehow "demean" the rest of the world if we articulate (or even recognize) America as the center of the known universe. David's "endearing qualities" means essentially: "isn't that cute."

The problem for the United States is the disconnect between this self-image and the way the rest of the world feels about us. Increasingly, people in other countries don't see America as that beacon of idealism but as something menacing. We can think they're wrong and we can choose to ignore them, but unfortunately, that won't change the way they feel.

Here's the crux of the issue. Let's leave out the borderline socialist nations of the EU and get right to the point. As Ramesh Ponnuru points out in his book "What's So Great about America" if we do not recognize the qualms of Islamic Fundementalism we will fail to adequately defeat our enemies. Here's the difference between the Bush doctrine and the theory that David advocates... David feels that if another Islamic country hates our guts we can simply walk away . In his mind (and the mind of many on the left) if we leave them alone, they won't bother us. Do people increasingly hate the US... probably. Should that change our policy... perhaps only in execution, definately not in substance.

I'm not sure that David is taking a swipe at the religious convictions of those on the right, but the "Copernican revolution" he proposes should only be considered in furthering established Ptolemaist goals. If a "kinder" approach to a nation establishes a goal to defeat our enemies then call it Copernican, call it diplomacy... but we do not change the stated doctrines and policies to change the polls in the world (which David cites liberally).

One of John Kerry's strengths in this presidential campaign is that he's a Copernican. He understands that however powerful and important the United States may be, it isn't the fixed center of the world. There are other nations, traveling in their own orbits -- with their own cultures, traditions and values -- which must be taken into account. Kerry takes a lot of flak from Republicans for this view, but critics miss the point.

You can't wish away America's present unpopularity in the world. It's a fact, and a dangerous one. The task of leadership, especially in a time of war -- is to gather support among other nations for U.S. policies. That's a subtle process, but it begins with a recognition that however blessed America may be, it doesn't have a God-given right to tell everyone else what to do. When America tries this approach (and Bush is hardly the first president who's guilty of it), it tends to make enemies.

Yes, John Kerry is the Copernican candidate. But again we're not dealing with physics here. If Kerry would approach the world with anything but American supremacy (ala Madam Albright) we will lose. There's no reason to "wish away" the ill-will of others, we must defeat it.

By the by David, can you point to an example where America tells everyone what to do. I think we've been pretty selective about where we stake our claim.

Extending your analogy, why is the Sun the center of the galaxy, because it is the largest object. I ask again, what is the largest object in the political and economic universe? Using the theories of physics, what does everything then gravitate to.