Is the World Slouching Toward a Grave Systemic Crisis? – The Atlantic

Source: Is the World Slouching Toward a Grave Systemic Crisis? – The Atlantic, by Philip Zelikow

keynote address at the annual meeting of the Aspen Strategy Group … In this speech he reflects on the much-discussed concept of “world order,” interrogates the claim that a “more open” world is really better for Americans, and issues a warning about America’s world leadership.

History is punctuated by catalytic episodes—events that can become guideposts toward a more open and civilized world.

Power worship blurs political judgment because it leads, almost unavoidably, to the belief that present trends will continue.

The so-called “world order” is really the accumulation of local problem-solving.

James Burnham’s The Managerial State vs. George Orwell’s “open and civilized societies”.

State the questions another way: Do open societies really work better than closed ones? Is a more open and civilized world really safer and better for Americans? If we think yes, then what is the best way to prove that point?