Review by Kirkus Book Review
A diplomacy expert examines four large areas the U.S. must negotiate if the nation is to endure as a democracy. Baer posits that the U.S. faces a "polycrisis" made worse by the fact that so many in the polity have given up faith that anything can be done about such things as political polarization and climate change. The author proposes four multipronged approaches. The areas include the problem of scale, which effectively asks, in a world of population decline and bars to immigration, whether the America of today will remain large enough to hold a leading position in the current global pecking order. Neither alarmist nor complacent, he suggests that "the U.S. must adapt to a future in which it has less coercive power over other states," sensible enough given that many of the existential threats we face are not exactly political, but instead demand international coordination and cooperation. Building scale means having the people to do it, which means an immigration policy that encourages a continued flow of new Americans to contribute. That in turn opens up onto the question of how to fund the education necessary for innovation in a time when education is both defunded and scant resources are directed to wealthier white districts--and this when "the majority of people under age sixteen in the United States identify as nonwhite." Against a confluence of negative megatrends, Baer's tests of what he calls scale, investment, fairness, and identity don't defy solution, but they resist easy ones: "There is no single policy, no awakening, no cultural shift that can address any one of them." Yet we must "take a leap of faith" because, he concludes, "In the end, really, what choice do we have?" Policy wonks and activists will find much to ponder in Baer's lucidly argued platform. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
