EP 714 13 Colonies to Fifty States: What Should America Do Next to Stay Competitive?

Given the impacts of climate change, aging demographics, and a growing middle class around the globe, the world finds itself at a crossroads.  Superpowers, like United States, will have to demonstrate their ability to change and adapt in the coming period in order to maintain their status.  As far as America goes, the process is achievable, and perhaps we are best positioned to compete and win.  Given our internal political dysfunction, it will not be easy.  We will have to accept a new reality of vertical re-alignment based on the effects of climate change, particularly on our Central and South American neighbors.  Absorption of young people who will continue to stream across our borders, from southern climes, will be necessary.  And while this does not seem feasible, given today’s politics, our guest suggests that what we today fear most may soon become an inevitability. And a welcome one, at that.  Thomas P.M. Barnett is one of America’s most respected national security strategists, and he proves his alacrity at seeing the world as it is and will be in his latest book, “America’s New Map: Restoring Our Global Leadership in an Era of Climate Change and Demographic Collapse.”  You will want to hear his fascinating perspectives.

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