What is the Cost of “America First”?
In the last 100 years the economy has become international and “interdependent”. America has been highly invested globally since world war II. Organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, and The IMF have depended greatly on the United States. All of these global partnerships were formed for stability in a changing world.
The U.S. is a world superpower, and they were a big part of the creation of the United Nations and N.A.T.O People believe that if the U.S. decides to remove themselves from N.A.T.O., bad things will happen to smaller nations that receive their protection. The U.S. leaving N.A.T.O. will leave the other great nations vulnerable to conflict.
United Nations:
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
MAINTAIN INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
DELIVER HUMANITARIAN AID
PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Peacekeeping, originally developed as a means of dealing with inter-State conflict, was increasingly being applied to intra-State conflicts and civil wars.
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/surge.shtml
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Thanks to the amount of money the U.S. gives to N.A.T.O they have enough power and authority to make important decisions within the board.
POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defense clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
International Monetary Fund
IMF stands for “International Monetary Fund”. Before WWI countries used to trade with their gold, after world war and great depression, world trade suffered. The IMF was formed as a solution to trade instability. It promoted confidence to member nations with trade, monitors global economy and gives emergency assistance. The nations who join IMF pay a membership fee as a form of insurance. And they train economist in member countries.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership
http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm
Global interdependence means that many countries depend on each other in order to grow and succeed. Example of corporations that are interdependent include Oil corporations that have grown thanks to the exportation of oil to countries that want to buy it. Some say that there is a “Twilight of the liberal world order” happening now because of people who support “America First” as President Donald Trump said in his inaugural speech. This idea of “America first” has not been popular since the early 20th century and the time period after World War I and it seems it is more costly today than ever before because of the growing globalization of the economy over time. We are more connected in the world economy today than we ever have been in human history; this connection in economic power should lead to cooperation in political power but some countries will feel the burden and responsibility of power more than others.
Sources:
Library databases: http://www.cavendishsquaredigital.com/article/12229?search=imf
Internet research: https://www.quora.com/Why-should-the-US-continue-to-supply-73-of-NATO-funds-Shouldnt-Germany-step-in-and-spend-more