Economic factors frequently influence the reforms that governments choose to implement. National policies, especially in the United States, have always had a significant impact on economic power, the emergence of new company organizations, and the performance of financial institutions. In fact, an economic process in a country demonstrates what individuals, firms, and authorities wish to purchase and sell. Since the United States seems to have a capitalist-oriented market based on free-trade agreements, it is ultimately the decisions of companies and consumers that shape the economy. Thus, it is essential to view politics and economics as interconnected phenomena, which is the predominant point of this paper.
One of the critical transitions that made the modern image of America is that of an old economy to a new economy. The old economy contrasts with the new economy, which depends on traditional business processes rather than harnessing cutting-edge technology. This old economic system, which goes back to the Industrial Revolution, is based on the production of goods rather than the exchange of ideas. Common products are priced based on measurable characteristics such as operational costs and product scarcity. Thus, the main distinction lies in the nature of the goods that define economic processes, as well as the method of putting value on them.
The new economy rapidly reshaped American business and financial practices. For example, it encouraged increasing public control of the economy via organizational systems such as unions and state-owned banking. The movement allowed the US to address social disparities, such as an expanding jail population, resulting from the United States’ growing privatization. As a result, many organizations have shifted from the traditional corporate focus on profit and wealth creation toward a more liberal egalitarian and ecologically responsible business strategy.
Yet, the ideas of public ownership and social justice represented in the economy would not be possible without electronic media. The new economy is supported by the widespread advancement of information and communication technology, such as the Internet, across all business sectors in order to increase productivity (Trowbridge, 2017). The digital revolution of the economy is changing traditional ideas about how firms are formed, how customers receive products or services, and how nations must react to new regulatory problems.
The presidency of Bill Clinton is another important event in the process of reshaping the US economy. According to Riley (2018), “Bill Clinton began his transition into the presidency promising to focus … on … unemployment, the runaway deficit, the health care crisis, and welfare reform” (para. 1). Evidently, most of his efforts in these sectors of the country were successful. However, Bill Clinton’s administration’s international policy was secondary to a governor preoccupied with home issues. After failures in Somalia, Rwanda, and Haiti, the president chose the philosophy founded on the goal of enlarging the global community of market democracies, international conflict prevention, and diplomatic alliances (Riley, 2017). Compared to the Republic presidents who preceded and followed him in office, namely George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, his domestic policy seems more practical and globalization-oriented, while his foreign policy is less invasive.
It appears that the policies of Bill Clinton enabled a transition from the old economy to the new economy, which is a largely positive influence. However, Clinton’s personal image has suffered as a result of his actions. Consequently, Congress has been damaged by outright censorship, and the media’s credibility has suffered because of its growing desire for controversy. Thus, the misconduct of the president has impacted his carrier and led to his impeachment.
The new economy celebrated by Bill Clinton has brought America into the age of globalization. However, this phenomenon receives criticism allegedly due to the opinion that borders between nations are melting away. Yet, it could be argued that the governments embracing globalization by creating unions (for example, the UN) are protected more protected from interventions in their countries than ever before. Thus, the changes did not destroy borders but, in fact, provided more guarantees for preserving sovereign states via free trade and conflict resolution agreements.
Some depict the United States as the single superpower in the world. From an economic point of view, the US does play a significant role in the modern world; yet there is predominantly freedom for development for other countries rather than one particular force that concentrates and controls all the processes. As for politics, it could be claimed that the ability for free trade supported and needed by the US exists because of the restriction of the powers of states, including the US. Thus, there are limitations in the influence of the US on both economic and political fronts that are maintained voluntarily by the country. However, globalization also applies to culture, media, the environment, and population trends, since these phenomena are largely influenced by the internet, which makes all of them connected. It is evident that international trade allows the exchange of ideas reflected in the mentioned concepts.
The other concept particularly for the 21st century, is the war on terror. Afghanistan and Iraq have both been involved in the Global War on Terror. This intervention is a wholly novel and non-traditional sort of battle. In fact, this war does not have a distinct start and end; moreover, this conflict does not have some distinctive enemy and defining battles. The other feature of this kind of war is that combatants do not include the majority of the population but only volunteers.
Finally, the 9/11 attacks led to fundamental changes in the conduct of US foreign policy. First of all, nondirective adjustments were prioritized, such as authorization of the CIA activity. Secondly, the United States took a new approach, focusing not only on other states and nations but on non-state dangers like terrorism. The result of this attack is the previously mentioned war on terror. Thus, the US entered the new stage of an invisible fight with the dispersed enemy. As such, the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 is usually justified by the claim that Saddam Hussein’s regime was linked to the country’s rulers. Although the protection of the safety of American citizens from terrorism seems a convincing argument, the particular choice of Iraq and its population are not directly connected with the attacks, which makes it lesser sound.
To conclude, the beginning of the 21st century has brought multiple changes in American society, economics, and politics. The most remarkable shift was from the old economy to the new economy. The significant reforms concerning this transition happened during the presidency of Bill Clinton. The US entered into the globalization stage, although the country met new dangers in the face of terrorism, which induced the war on terror.
References
Riley, R. L. (2017). Bill Clinton: Foreign affairs. Miller Center.
Riley, R. L. (2018). Bill Clinton: Domestic affairs. Miller Center.
Trowbridge, H. (2017). Digital media worlds: The new economy of media. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 16(1), 81–84.