Is Trump conflicted on how to make America great again?

 NEEDS TO FOCUS ON HISTORY AND PRIORITIES

AMERICA DID NOT BECOME GREAT BY TRYING TO BE #1

It does appear that President Trump does desire to restore the country to its former dynamic and supreme place in the world. It is also evident that while he does want to restore the countries manufacturing base, possibly the most important factor in the countries former place in the world. He is also sometimes not yet able to form policies in international relations that will restore the countries integrity and  credibility. 

On an individual basis, few people become wealthy by focusing on making more money. The reality is they become wealthy by taking pride in providing a product or service that people want and are happy to purchase or use that product or service, they strive to provide the best they can. If they soon become focused on more money, quickly they often stray in quality or satisfaction of their customers and once that become evident they are destined to decline. Of course, then some hope to keep their success going by hoping to force the desire for their product by stifling competition either by sabotage or government collusion. Inevitably they would be better off by going back and understanding what made them successful in the first place. 

This allegory does apply to nations as well. America became wealthy and strong by providing a system that encouraged entrepreneurship and innovation, This was maintained by a system of law that protected individuals, and their property. It sought, by copyright and patents to ensure these good ideas would benefit those who developed the innovations. It has been a great success.

At the end of WW2 the United States had the greatest manufacturing output in the world. It was blessed by the protection of oceans on both coasts. It had a reputation of excellence and fair play with most of the nations in the world. Of course, we can always point to failings and mistakes, but generally that was the case.

Within 20 years of the end of WW2 the world began to change. Germany and Japan were recovering and both were focusing on manufacturing quality and desirable products for the world, rather than aggression. We saw Germany 's quality optics and manufacturing equipment increase in quality and desirability. We watched as Jaqan provided motorcycles and cars and other desirable products and both soon became increasingly wealthy. They accomplished much of that by mimicking U.S. policies.

The Soviet Union, which had adopted the popular idea of communism was increasingly seeing a lack of initiative and a failure of human fulment and the generation after the original revolutionaries sought to reform to a more capitalist or freedom of market place system. Actually reforms began immediately after the death of Stalin and continued and culminated with the end of the communist system in 1991.  Their hope was to also mimic and develop a system that would be as successful as that witnessed in the U.S. and Germany and Japan. They openly desired to become part of the world system and sought a reduction of nuclear arms by numerous treaties. There is a long list available at the U.S. state department web site. It was in fact a marvelous undertaking of peaceful transition that was one of the most amazing developments of the 20th century. This process has been attested to by some who were there in their hope of assisting the leadership in that transition. Jeffrey Sacks, a U.S. economist, is daily still pointing out this fact.

There were those in the U.S. who saw this growing increase in wealth by these former opponents as a dangerous trend. At the same time the U.S. economy was increasingly hampered by regulation and lack of incentive and began transitioning to a system focused on making money by acquisition and dismemberment, loaning money at interest for consumer goods, importing from cheaper producers and selling to higher standard of living consumers. Its focus was on making money. It is a policy that can only lead to debt, a lower standard of living and weak manufacturing base. While the end is inevitable, it can be a slow decline or possibly a drop over the cliff.

Policy makers, rather than go back to the basis for the U.S. success, decided its ability to stay on top should be insured by diminishing and containing its economic competitors either by sanctions, monetary manipulations or outright military power. Of course, this is a short summary, but in effect that is were we are and now our failure to address this decline is on the precipice of even being in the position that military power is being challenged and soon we will not have the capacity to endure a sustained conflict.  

The U.S. was the first nation to make a break from the age old system of plundering those who have what we want. From Greece to Rome to the British Empire it was focused on taking by colonialism both militarily or economic. Some  European powers still strive for those days and would like the U.S. to assist in their taking. I suspect that some in this country would gladly revert to that system. 

While we continually hear the demonization of Russia, China and others, the biggest threat is right here at home and hoping to be successful by diminishing others will not have any effect on making America great again. A policy of military confrontation needs to be replaced by a policy of cooperation and mutual prosperity, it is the only policy that will insure the wellbeing of all.