The Endangered American Dream; How to Stop the United States from Becoming a Third World Country and How to Win the Geo-Economic Struggle for Industrial Supremacy
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. 365, [3] pages. Notes. Index. DJ somewhat worn and soiled. Front DJ flap price creased. Inscribed by the author to journalist and author Hedrick Smith. Mr. Smith signed and dated the book inside the front flyleaf; he also wrote extensive comments to the text, and underlined significant passages. Edward Nicolae Luttwak (born November 4, 1942) is a political scientist who has published works on grand strategy, military history, and international relations. He also provides consulting services to governments and international enterprises including various branches of the U.S. government and the U.S. military. He has served as a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, the United States Department of State, the United States Navy, United States Army, United States Air Force, and several NATO defense ministries. Working for OSD/Net Assessment, he co-developed the current maneuver-warfare concept, working for TRADOC, he introduced the "operational level of war" concept into U.S. Army doctrine, wrote the first manual for the Joint Special Operations Agency, and co-developed the Rapid-Deployment Force concept (later U.S. Central Command) for the Office of the Secretary of Defense International Security Affairs. Luttwak has been a frequent lecturer and consultant, and is known for his innovative policy ideas, suggesting for example that major powers' attempts to quell regional wars actually make conflicts more protracted. His book Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook has been reprinted numerous times, and translated into 18 languages. His book Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace is used as a textbook in war colleges and universities. The author advocates industrial policy, stronger immigration controls, an increased federal role in education, and a value-added tax that will halt overconsumption--the central problem of the U.S. economy. One of America's most thoughtful and provocative strategists exposes the economic and cultural assumptions that have driven the U.S. to the brink of social and financial collapse. Edward Luttwak reveals a forceful new policy that can reverse America's decline. Derived from a Kirkus review: Having made a name for himself as a military sage, Luttwak now turns his attention to geoeconomics—the battleground on which, he asserts, a self-defeating US must best commercial rivals if it's to thrive in the wake of the USSR's collapse. In his wide-ranging overview, the author argues that America is on the decline toward Third World status—citing a downward slide in domestic wage scales; measurable drops in living standards; ongoing job losses in major industries (owing to the transfer of advanced technologies); urban decay; spiraling debt burdens; inadequate savings rates; and a persistent failure to invest in capital goods, infrastructure, research, or people. Luttwak warns, an unfortunate trend to unfettered individualism (driven to a great extent by misguided concessions to cultural diversity in schools, the workplace, and other venues) has undermined the nation's unity and, hence, its capacity to compete in global markets. Following his diagnosis of what ails the body politic, the author prescribes some medicine: e.g., he commends vocational as well as academic education, value-added taxation, and a formal industrial policy that enables the US government to support American business. Luttwak concludes America's political leaders must mobilize all available resources for the trade conflicts that will determine economic dominion in the 21st century and beyond. A wake-up call to arms. Condition: Fair / good.
Keywords: Business, Economic Conditions, Political Science, U.S. Commerce, Technology Transfer, Value-Added Tax, Hedrick Smith, Geoenomics, Economic Development, Trade Policy, Research and Development, Industrial Investment
ISBN: 0067186939
[Book #55700]
Price: $85.00