Outward and Cosmopolitan Perception of the World

Fareed Zakaria's "The Rise of the Rest" is a timely text that examines the reality of where the world is now in what is known as the post-American era. The text tackles a subject where many have failed in the past due to a perceived lack of understanding of the issues at hand. The author explains in detail how the United States is facing global competition as a result of other countries' growing economies. Even though America is expected to be a global leader in the military and education, it is argued that the other sectors are in jeopardy due to what he perceives as the rise of the rest. He affirms his assertions by the statement “When trying to explain how America will fare in the new world, I sometimes say, ‘Look around.' The future is already here” (Zakaria). Zakaria cites notable cases of countries that have risen to the limelight and particularly identified China, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It thus presents a challenge to the country that is the center of the argument the US, and the manner in which I would adjust to counter the challenge by the rising economies of the world that make it look like the US is undergoing a decline, which the author insist it is not. The rise of the rests is a challenge for the US that necessitates the need for a cosmopolitan and outward orientation in thinking.

One of the ways to overcome the challenge that the US has found itself in following the wake of the era of globalization is to embrace cosmopolitanism. The process of engaging in a cosmopolitan framework will mean that people will be able to appreciate themselves and in particular Americans will be in a position to realize that there are barriers to its progress. Rational deliberation is a significant concept that can only be perceived through embracing a cosmopolitanism thinking mentality. It involves looking at ourselves in a way that is a lens of the other. In the educational sector, it can be perceived as a way of thinking that will mean that the US takes frequent checks into the relevance of the programs that people are studying relative to the market demands. It thus follows that such a move will ensure that frequent visits are made to ensure that there is compliance relative to the need global needs and market demands. It is particularly relevant that the use perceived it as a platform for comparing with the rising world in the “rest” category to ensure that it is not left behind after setting a pace. Taking such as approach will thus mean that not only is it possible to keep a track record of how one is fairing, which benefits the country as a whole.

An alternative approach that is presented from the selected literature is the use of moral obligation to the rest of the world as a realistic outcome that has been ignored for a long time in history. The concept of global justice has been lacking for many years when one tries to examine thee nature of US relations to the rest of the world. It is written that “If one begins life as a child who loves and trusts its parents, it is tempting to want to reconstruct citizenship along the same lines, finding in an idealized image of a nation a surrogate parent who will do one’s thinking for one. Cosmopolitanism offers no such refuge; it offers only reason and the love of humanity, which may seem at times less colorful than other sources of belonging” (Nussbaum 155). It high time the US and its citizens realized that if at all they believe in human rights being inalienable, then the focus should be on ensuring that they are adhered to regarding the rest of the world. It is thus a high time that moral judgement is used as a basis for ensuring that there is accountability. It is particular relevant in the case of the US international airports reports have indicated that many of the official often mistreat some of the exiles. The observation of human rights is directly proportional to the demands of the rest of the population which beats logic when it is done in a harsh manner. In fact, it is important to affirm that being adherent to the inalienable right does not necessarily mean that one has to give in to their special degree of concern but rather they need to be accommodative of the rest. Such efforts are expected to depict a more positive outlook that the rest of the world and thus develop a better relationship that does not appear to make the US different from the others.

A perception that is also aimed at insisting on the centrality to the democratic deliberation will also go a long way into boosting the way citizens embrace togetherness. It is high time that the US realized that the world out there is accommodating new techniques that have not been tested on American soil and are doing great in business and the overall economy. For example, China is a country that has for a long time been associated with communism that is proving to be benefiting. The author asserts that “By conceding that a morally arbitrary boundary such as the boundary of the nation has a deep and formative role in our deliberations, we seem to be depriving ourselves of any principled way of arguing to citizens that they should in fact join hands across these other barriers” (Nussbaum 156). It thus follows that the spirit of democratic liberation will ensure that the nation appreciates the values that bind its citizens together. The primary question, however, is on the justification behind the concept of joining hands across the boundaries that have created limits of ethnicity, gender, and race. It is ironical that while there are instances where American have managed to unite all parties within states, the challenges have been across boundaries. The fact that this reality beats logic means that there is need for a extending the spirit of togetherness to the rest of the world. Such an integration will mean that the county is developing positive associations that will be instrumental in sharing ideas that they cannot trust the US with regarding their development.

Finally, it is suggested that there should be a mechanism in place to care for the fact that the international politics have often been divisive and it is a high time that they were made to be uniting. The politics of nationalism have been centered on the experience that is based on the forces of nationalism (Drezner). Nationalisms and ethnocentric particularism cannot be perceived as being alien to each other, which necessitates the fact that the nation’s values are the positive segment for uniting the country. Thus, apart from transcending divisions are made in a way that ensures that the county’s first allegiance should be geared to that which is perceived to be good (Nussbaum).

In summary, it is worth highlighting that the challenge of the rising of the rest of the world is perceived as a threat to the US even though it does not necessarily constitute the US going lower. The reality has thus created the impression that as a nation, the US ought to examine the nature of its relation to the outside world. It is in this sense that it becomes realistic to suggest the use of cosmopolitanism and an outward orientation in the way the nation deals with the rest of the world. It must thus ensure that the rights of the outside nations are observed and that the relations make in intentional politics are more binding than they are divisive. The implementation of these techniques will thus requires the US as a whole changes how it has viewed the rest of the world because the tide has changed and the domination has been usurped.









Works Cited

Drezner, Daniel. “International Relations and Zombies.” n. pag. Print.

Nussbaum, Martha. “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.” The Cosmopolitan Reader February (1994): 155–162. Web.

Zakaria, Fareed. “The American Future of Power: How America Can Survive the Rise of the Rest.” Foreign Affairs 87.3 (2014): 18–43. Web.