May 22, 2005
HENNY PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS:
It's Sputnik Time Again:We take a few facts—a satellite, poor test scores—to concoct grand theories of economic decline. They sound right but are usually wrong. (Robert J. Samuelson, 5/22/05, Newsweek)
Americans are having another sputnik moment: one of those periodic alarms about some foreign economic menace. It was the Soviets in the 1950s and early 1960s, the Germans and the Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, and now it's the Chinese and the Indians. To anyone old enough, there's no forgetting Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviets orbited the first space satellite. It terrified us.We'd taken our technological superiority for granted. Foolish us. Soon there were warnings of a "missile gap" with the Soviets. One senator admonished that Americans should "be less concerned with... the height of the tail fin on the new car and [more] prepared to shed blood, sweat and tears if this country and the free world are to survive."
The missile gap turned out to be a myth, as did many later theories explaining why the Germans and the Japanese would inevitably surpass us. They were said to have better managers, better workers and better schools. They outsaved and outinvested us. It was just a matter of time. Let's see. In 2004, Americans' per capita incomes averaged $38,324, reports the Conference Board. The figures for Germany and Japan were $26,937 and $29,193. The only country with a higher average income was Luxembourg at $53,958.
The American Empire, where the sky is always falling...and hitting rivals in the head. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 22, 2005 8:41 PM
OK, I confess. I was in elementary school in 1957. And yes, the curriculum did change. Way more math and science. A few years later, I watched from the school playground as Marine troop carriers rumbled down the highway from Camp Pendleton to San Diego during the Cuban missile 'crisis'. But I don't recall any parents being scared. We knew that we would win. Of course, most of my elementary school teachers were Republicans. Now I really am dating myself.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at May 23, 2005 1:26 AMYet perhaps it is the sense of paranoia that prods the US into making necessary re-evaluations and changes to policy. Rarely does it prompt us to adopt the ways of our rivals, but it does lead to some changes. All in all, this is a good trait.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at May 23, 2005 12:19 PM