A review of Mead's God and Gold

Extract

[...] The key is for the more successful countries to do a better job of sharing money and take fewer resources from the struggling countries and for the less- developed countries to bring more ideas and diversity to the table. Mediation and letting countries find new ways to shape the world is possible. It requires better communication and a new understanding with the world's concerns. This is why some sort of common enemy might actually help bring things together. If it were the world facing the environmental crisis, one by one, the leaders and people in charge would have to own up to the parts of the problem that were their responsibility. [...]

[...] Mead's God and Gold : Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World covers these three aspects of Anglo-Saxon power by grounding itself in the awareness that Anglo-American ideas and ideals have achieved dominance, even if the countries are not always highly regarded for having done it. This, in brief, would be the case for any world power: the playing field will never be level and countries on the tilted edges will always be frustrated. All nation-states, from the beginning, have dominated for the sake of wealth and spreading beliefs. [...]

[...] Sea power has less to with just military aggression and is also more than merely a tool for shipping. It means using the strategic flexibility of an offshore power, protected to some degree from the rivalries and hostilities of land powers surrounded by powerful neighbors, to build power strategies that other countries cannot counter. It means using command of the seas to plant colonies whose wealth and success reinforce the mother country. (Mead, p. 95) Against century of almost constant warfare across the globe, much of it against countries with larger populations, larger economies, and greater natural resources," (Mead, p. [...]

[...] History will end when we all gather round the campfire and sing 'Kumbayah'" (Mead, p. 401). Conclusion This, by examining Walter Russell Mead's book from these angles, it becomes apparent that, yes, the need for money combines with the resolve of a faith in ideals that creates both industry and the willingness to perpetuate power grabs and desire toward better ideals. Together, these show that Mead's text covers both sides of the extraordinary issue. The United States of America, and Britain (through both [...]

[...] Finally, along with country and economic greed, God has facilitated what, from our current perspective looks to be, could be called the rise of Anglo- Saxon dominance. It has not been a linear dominance and, twenty-five years ago, the Soviet Republics would need to be discussed as legitimate competitors, but no other countries are in the mix at the moment. And the Christian worldview is the final key aspect. American Christians had, "flatter hierarchies, more congregational control over worship, weaker national organizations, less emphasis on the nuances and fine points of academic theology, and a more emotional style of worship and preaching," (Mead, p. [...]