Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a quarter century ago, the US has dominated the world, both militarily and economically. We have bullied a number of nations in the Western Hemisphere, and, more recently, at least 7 in the Middle East, killing many, including numerous noncombatants. Earlier we killed millions in Korea and Indochina.
Humanity is in big trouble. There is an ongoing danger that our many wars will eventually lead to the use of thermonuclear weapons that could terminate human life on earth. Efforts to negotiate with Russia substantial reductions in thermonuclear weapons that could eventually lead to their total elimination made some real progress between about 1991 and 2010, with both sides converting substantial amounts of military grade fissionable material into nuclear reactor fuel. But then the process bogged down [1]. We need to complete the phase-out process to eliminate all such weapons worldwide.
We should also end our numerous wars all over the globe, mainly now in the Middle East. Our military budget should be drastically cut. We should bring home the 200,000 or so American troops stationed all over the world. Why, for example, should American soldiers be stationed in Great Britain, or Italy? It makes no sense to continue employing thousands of mercenaries (the actual numbers are not available) in the Middle East [2]?
Another major problem is that of global warming, caused by industrial and agricultural activities that are generating vast amounts of greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere. This problem was recognized a half century ago (I discussed it in a technology and society course starting some time in the 1970s.) If we continue to address it only half heartedly, the consequences will be devastating in the not distant future [3].
During my lifetime so far, the population of the world has increased from 2.1 billion to over 7.5 billion (US population from 124 million to 327 million) [4]. A number of serious problems are aggravated by this growing overpopulation. Very little is being done to deal with this issue, which could be effectively addressed, among other ways, by a worldwide campaign to facilitate and encourage the use of various birth control measures. When did you last see a newspaper article or column dealing with this issue?
Apart from the above problems, which affect people as a whole, a substantial, and growing, number of Americans are afflicted with poverty. The extent of economic inequality in the US is greater than in nearly all industrialized countries today, and is worse than it has been in the US since the 1930s depression [5].
Sadly, there seems to be little chance that any of these problems will be intelligently addressed. Both major parties have been contributing heavily to the problems we are facing.
The Republicans specialize in damaging the environment, and in amplifying economic inequality by promoting all sorts of measures that increase the wealth of the wealthy at the expense of the great majority of Americans.
The Democrats specialize in preparing for and waging war, which, in addition to killing people worldwide by the millions, also, due to military costs in the trillions of dollars, threatens to bring on a massive economic crash. More quietly, they have cooperated with the Republicans in squelching all efforts to revive labor unions, without which income of American workers will continue to deteriorate [6].
Incredibly, crude as they are, the current Republican administration is less threatening militarily than the previous Democratic administration, In the case of North Korea, they are (at this writing--October 2018) wisely backing away from a military confrontation that might involve detonating nuclear weapons [7]. (They are, however, threatening Syria.)
Perhaps even more amazing, among the 4 political parties appearing on our ballots, which includes the Libertarians and Greens, only the Republicans have been advocating, and implementing, measures to reduce the huge influx of immigrants, legal and illegal, that is so harmful to American workers [8]. Sadly, their approach is generally of a crude nature, accompanied by obnoxious rhetoric.
Both major parties are controlled by the super-rich. One consequence of this is that the rich are getting richer, as the poor get poorer. There is positive feedback, as great wealth is conducive to the acquisition of more wealth.
There is no feasible way, at present, to break the stranglehold the rich have over our political system. They finance the major parties, own the press and mass media, and finance various political think tanks. This may change following a massive economic crash, which is likely to occur in the not distant future. At that time, masses of people, hurt by the system, may be inspired to support big changes. The big problem may then be the need to avoid violence by channeling the popular reaction into the non-violent paths pioneered by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
Rather than relying on press releases, mailings, and advertising, political reformers should rely on person-to-person contacts: handing out our leaflets on the street, street corner meetings involving small groups of people, nonviolent demonstrations of various types, telephoning by live people. The idea is to rely on individual humans rather than on technology and advertising. There might also be a big role for the internet. We should utilize our one advantage: there are a lot more of us than there are of them.
[1] Stephen H. Unger, "H-Bombs: The Need to Not Have Them", Ends and Means, August 29, 2017
[2] Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, "Rise of the American Mercenary", The American Conservative, October 25, 2016
[3] Wikipedia, "Greenhouse gas"
[4] , "Countries in the world by population (2018)", worldometers
[5] Chad Stone, Danilo Trisi, Arloc Sherman, Roderick Taylor, "A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality", Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 29, 2018
[6] Stephen H. Unger, "The Demise of Unions and Why We Need to Revive Them", Ends and Means, September 11, 2013
[7] Nick Wadhams, Jihye Lee, "Trump Hopes to See North Korea's Kim After Pompeo Meeting", Bloomberg, October 7, 2018
[8] Stephen H. Unger, "Immigration--A Thorny Subject", Ends and Means, August 2, 2016
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