What is the United States' competitive advantage?

Question

What is the United States' competitive advantage?

Answer 1

Skeptic hit on one of the two most important factors.

1. Military; Our military insures for us the freedom to work and live in peace. How much productivity did we enjoy on September 10, 2001 versus September 12, 2001.

2. Freedom of markets; Nowhere in the world can a guy create a life changing product or service in his garage, deliver to the people and make millions of dollars. Do not discount the power of free market incentives (money) to drive innovation and creativity.

Answer 2

I don't think USA has that much of an advantage over other countries, economically speaking that is.  

USA has a well-educated workforce.  But a lot of other countries have that too.  USA has a lot of agricultural land.  But a lot of countries have that too.  The US government is business friendly.  But so are plenty of other countries.  There isn't much government corruption in USA.  And many other countries also don't have much government corruption.

Perhaps the only real advantage USA has over every other country is its ability to tell others what to do, or else. USA can use its alliances and military clout to get advantageous trading agreements with many countries around the world.

But this advantage comes at a great cost.  Because it does cost a lot of money to maintain the strongest military force in the world.  And when you add it all up.  It's hard to say whether USA really does have an economic advantage over other countries.

The huge debts USA is accumulating now will have to be repaid some day with interest.  And that's not something many other countries need to worry about.

Answer 3

Dollars, dollars and dollars.  They haven't been much this last few months, but...

Answer 4

There are certainly more than one.

A big one is the level of research and development, new patents, quality of research universities, and spending on pure science.

Another is the strong legal framework, relative lack of corruption (I said "relative").

And certianly the quality of financial institutions and stock markets, from the FED, to the NYSE.

Another, I think, is the level of education and productivity and creativity of the work force.

A large, well educated work force, good natural resources, a lot of land suitable for agricultural, good ports and rivers, good telecommunications systems and hiways.

Answer 5

According to Noam Chomsky, the United States spends almost as much on its military as the rest of the world combined. This means the US has an advantage when it threatens the use of power and sometimes carry through with overt aggression couched as a measured response. The invasion and occupation of the Middle East continues to be a big money maker for key investors. Don't expect this to end soon, because the increasing value of oil will keep US involved for many years like a black gold magnet.

Diplomacy puts everyone on an even (fair) field of play, so diplomacy may actually hurt the interests of very wealthy interests. The US uses the WTO and the World Bank to put nations into serious debt and then exploit the country through greedy corporations. Some countries have avoided this trap but they can become subject to covert US subversion and economic sanctions. You can see how American media (including PBS) is providing much cover through thinly veiled, slick propaganda.

This is a bleak interpretation of US foreign policy, but there is much documentation to support this perspective. Noam Chomsky does a far more subtle and accurate depiction of US foreign policy and I should defer to any of his many excellent and well researched papers on US foreign policy.