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Green Power is Soft Power
American climate inaction will weaken its position in the world
For much of the last century, the United States has been the most powerful nation on earth. America’s significance can be quantified in all sorts of different ways — its GDP, at $27 trillion, dwarfs the economies of its competitors. It’s one of the most populous nations, with more than 330 million people. Each of those people produces a per-capita GDP of over $81,000. And the U.S. spends more on its military than the next ten countries combined.
But the United States hasn’t just bullied its way to the top by posting bigger numbers than everybody else. It has also earned its spot at the center of global affairs by representing ideas about freedom, abundance, and technological progress that have proven incredibly attractive to people around the world.
Over the last century, the United States created a compelling narrative about itself. It was the country that put a man on the moon. It was the home of Hollywood, an industry associated with glamor and excitement. It gave the world the personal computer, Google, and the iPhone. It was a place where anyone, coming from anywhere in the world, could find success and be themselves. A land of opportunity, as they say.
