But can the great American misfortune — the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression — actually be a positive force in some nations?
The success of China, as they grow at rates beyond those of any other nation and buy up American debt, is not a new story. The effective pause in economic growth on our side of the globe, though, gives a leg up to nations in need of catch up. In Vietnam, for example, where a decade of war (and subsequent decades of dependence) left a weakened economy and little independent infrastructure, parts of Saigon "might easily be in Orange County, California from the standpoint of large-scale retail, office and residential development."
At the World Economic Forum in January, it was the ministers from Vietnam and neighboring countries doling economic advice on rebuilding — an unlikely turn of events. The New York Times reported that American and European economic practices were not even discussed as role models. Instead, the mostly East Asian leaders explained their own tactics and reliance on consumerism.
The decline of American dominance in world markets as the United States battles through its recession has opened the door for nations to catch up, uninhibited. Prosperity may not solely be a question of policy or history, but also simply opportunity.
