Critical Thinking and American Academic Culture

It goes without saying that there are inherent flaws within the American academic system, particularly at the high school and undergraduate levels. These problems are born of the culture of “teaching (or learning) to the test” present within these systems. I’m not talking about the meritocracy of schools based on standardized test scores (which is, in itself, a massive problem which I will not here address for fear of pulling out all my hair), rather the lack of critical thinking among students and the short comings of methods used by teachers (not across the board; I’ve had several teachers who actually excelled at this, you know who you are) to encourage it.
Firstly, let me say that this problem is in part due to the culture of laziness that has become toxically present in American culture as a whole, which plays a large role in what I will go into here. I will use as examples two classes in which I am currently enrolled; a political science class and a philosophy class. It is important to note that I’m not saying critical thinking is more important in these fields than in others, quite the opposite, it is important in every aspect of life, these are just the examples I am using.
On the one hand, we have my political science class. This class features what would, in a perfect world, be a good method of encouraging critical thinking among students. We are assigned for each class period one or two pieces of academic literature to read, after which we are to think of a thought provoking question to be used during in class discussion. The catch? You don’t necessarily have to read the entire thing to be able to write at least a passable question. This is one example of learning to the test, of doing just enough to get the grade, of being too lazy to do the work thoroughly and properly. I’m by no means saying that I’m not guilty of this, because I am; I am, however, saying that this example represents one of the problems I see in American academia. While this method is intended to encourage critical thinking, it accomplishes the opposite; because it isn’t necessary to complete the reading in its entirety, thereby taking in all the information therein, it is not critical thinking that is achieved, rather a honing of BS skills, and I don’t mean bachelors of science.
On the other hand, we have my philosophy class. This class takes what I see as the opposite approach to critical thinking. The assignments in this course also consist of readings; however the written portion is not some thought provoking question, rather a summary of what you read. Assignments like this have been lamented since middle school for their simplicity, (supposed) lack of critical thinking, and lack of academic merit in general. I would contest, however, that they accomplish the task better than the method explained above. Because getting a good grade requires completion of the reading assignment from start to finish, the student is forced to take in all the information in the text, or at least look at it enough to write a brief summary. While not directly or intentionally targeting critical thinking, this method certainly exposes the student to more information and, thereby, provides a better understanding of the course material.
As I stated above, the real issue is American laziness. Methods like the ones above are necessary because American students, by and large, don’t want to think critically, they want to get good enough grades to walk across the stage in June. It will not be until this overarching cultural issue is resolved that students will learn for the sake of learning, think because they want to think, study to gain knowledge, as opposed to merely going through the motions to get the grade.

-Sam

Reestablishment of U.S. Power in the International System

Cadet Stephen M. Bernard

Virginia Military Institute

Abstract

This paper explores the position of the United States in the international system. It outlines the U.S. rise to power and explains why the United States has fallen from the position of power it had originally held. Guided by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum’s book That Used to be US, I apply parts of their 5-point solution to the issues of globalization and the information technology revolution. After outlining these issues, I use textual analysis to connect these two issues to depict the adaptation necessary by the United States to reestablish themselves in the global community.

Reestablishment of U.S. Power in the International System

The history of the United States can be characterized by the term exceptionalism. Defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, exceptionalism is the condition of being different from the norm; also, a theory expounding the exceptionalism of a nation or region. America and its citizens have traditionally risen to face adversity. When the Soviets were transporting nuclear missiles to Cuba, national unity provided support to an administration who applied strength to mitigate the threat. At the tail end of the Great Depression of the early 20^th Century and in the midst of the Second World War, car plants were turned into tank factories, stay at home moms built American Naval vessel—all for the purpose of defeating the axis of evil. Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum in That Used to be Us question America’s ability to meet today’s challenges by providing four areas of modern society pioneered by the United States but now dominated by other nations. The four areas they describe are globalization, the information technology revolution, chronic economic deficits, and energy consumption management. To offer a solution on how the US can restore its former global presence, the authors prescribe a five-part solution through education, infrastructure, immigration, research and development, and regulation. (376) I will explain globalization and the information technology revolution, the relationship between the two, and propose solutions offering a course that the United States must take to adapt to today’s global community.

Globalization, as presented by Friedman and Mandelbaum, catalyzed the other challenges faced by the United States in the modern international system. Therefore, globalization was and is crucial to the development and expansion of nations (such as China, Germany, and Japan) that now aggressively compete with the United States. Defined as the free movement of people, goods, services and capital across national borders, globalization truly appeared following World War II. The global system was designed and implemented by the United States to establish more democratic, free-trade, governments following the destruction of the war.  Well equipped to participate a system designed by Americans, the United States prospered from the free trade of economic expansion.

Economic prominence through trade agreement led to America’s role as an international power and set the example for modern state progression. Observing western prosperity, globalization policies took footholds in nations such as China which identified incredible profit potential in an increasingly competitive market where adaptability and flexibility are essential to excel. (19) This profit potential did not solely exist in the competitive market but because of its competition. China, among others, identified and proceeded to exploit the value of lower prices to the consumer. This trend results in the current dominance of China in the manufacturing industry, they are able to outcompete American products by offering finished goods at a lower price to the consumer through the use of lower labor wages. Solvable by tariffs to protect the domestic market, foreign products can be made at a lower cost, increasing the profit margin for small businesses. That pattern leads to the outsourcing of labor jobs, a topic covered later in this essay.

Following the events of the Cold War was an era of change in the international system. Utilizing the metaphor of evolution observed in nature, methods of adaptation as conducted in the consolidation of companies, nations, institutions, and even individuals will be the determinant of who will survive, or in the reality of globalization, thrive in the future of the international environment. (23) Furthermore, the states which emerged from the Cold War era should have devised systems to interact in the new international system.  Therein lays the problem with the globalization challenge as faced by the United States. Established as the strongest nation in the world following WWII, the United State’s position in global dominance has been in recession. Since the end of the Cold War, the complacency of American leaders to systematically adapt to the fundamental changes in the global environment has lead to the American power decline. (23) The transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century created new markets and economic certainties at rates unparalleled in human history. Exponential growth in globalization created complex webs of connectivity between distant states and increased competition in job markets on the global scale.

To further explore how the United States had fallen behind, Americans should call upon the event where the CEO of Apple, an American based company, was approached in an attempt to return the production of Apple products from foreign sites back to the US. He responded with an answer suggesting that such a return of jobs was improbable. Basing his decision from the comparison of labor force flexibility, industrial capacity, and reliability of the workers in foreign countries compared to labor in the United States, the CEO aptly came to the conclusion that the difficulty of maintaining a high profit margin through domestic manufacturing would deter customers. With the establishment of Unions and institutions such as OSHA, American employment in an industrial factory seems to imply the de facto indispensability of the low-skill worker. This system cannot compete with the growing pool of low-wage, high-skilled worker found abroad. (60) Global economic change has empowered the businesses of the private sector versus the institutions of the government. This shift to small businesses also created a highly competitive market, compelling participants to use their freedoms as business owners to advance themselves ahead of the competition. Attitudes that drive companies towards success also drive companies such as Apple to seek maximized profit by job exportation as opposed to job creation in the United States. (58)

Addressing the challenge of globalization, a policy solution should be pursued by the elected leaders of the United States. Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) calls for imperative collaboration between the American major opposing political parties. (353) As a part of the solution, a regulation aspect of the five-part prescription by Friedman and Mandelbaum describes the necessity of finding middle ground between the two ideologies (of the major political parties) which govern the state. The theoretical middle ground between state leaders will facilitate federal regulation conducive toward the changes necessary for active competition in the global market of today.

The information technology revolution was initiated in the United States with the production of transistors, satellites, and the personal computer. They eventually evolved into consumer products such as the internet, cell phones, and the IPad. Globalization disassembled monopolies in information technology from the United States to create the international system of competition in the IT industry. Products and industrial concepts were introduced into the world community by American-based companies. (30) Competing countries, grasping the IT revolution, began out-producing America and outperforming the United States in its own domestic markets. This trend can be observed in the automobile market where foreign companies such as Honda, Toyota, or Volkswagen compete in terms of price, efficiency, and durability and outperform American companies like General Motors or Ford. 

Adaptation to the transformation of the international system and economy by the United States is crucial to acquiring a position of power and solving the IT revolution issue. Education as well as research and development are applicable from the five-part solution to current challenges. Drawing upon another example outlined in That Used to be Us, IBM almost collapsed in the technological revolution during the time of the personal computer. Inventing the pc was considered a side project as the business remained stagnant in its ways, utilizing business models designed for the business world that it had once dominated; the company remained oblivious to the market as it would become. It adapted and survived through self-criticism and analysis of the world in which it operated. (375) Just as prevalent as product manufacturing in considering a solution to the IT revolution is the competition in the job market. Education is incredibly relevant as analytical and innovative skills must be further developed in secondary schools to become a business asset in the technological industry. (88) Where factory workers were once needed to produce that which was in demand by the consumer, machines have proven more efficient. White collar jobs at the entry level have also been progressively eliminated as individuals possessing bachelors and graduate degrees produce higher human capital and are more desirable than those without. (57)

The United States demonstrated exceptionalism in nearly every problem it had faced. However,  the problem was nearly always tangible; whether it was the economic downturn of the depression, daunting fascist regimes in WWII, or threatening communist activity during the Cold War. In the modern system, the challenges are inexplicably different and more complicated. The current intangible challenges of globalization and the information technology revolution are incredibly intertwined; the international community moved from fragmented and fractionalized to free exchange and competition rich. Although recent US trends ignore our history of global leadership, seemingly to be replaced by states such as China, adaptation and focus upon prescriptive application of  education, infrastructure, immigration, research and development, and regulation – the five-part solution offered by Friedman and Mandelbaum—can actualize true American potential. Col. Mark Mykleby, formerly assigned to the United States Special Operation Command and currently a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, calls on the American people to mobilize towards the solution and discuss the obvious challenges to maintain the citizen’s obligation to the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution. (377)

Challenged in fields such as globalization and the information technology revolution, I have outlined solutions guided by Friedman and Mandelbaum’s That Used to be Us, I offered  a response to the gradual decline of American power in the international system. As citizens of the United States, individuals may encourage elected officials to influence policymaking. Traditional American values encourage small business and domestic goods, by reaching across the aisle and implementing common sense, policy will revitalize the American economy without severing foreign ties. Increases on the importance of higher education will produce a highly skilled labor force and incredibly valuable human capital. Higher education will also shift the balance of the IT revolution as American citizens regain their place at the forefront of technological innovation. The United States’ history exemplifies that high values and ideals fuel hard working and zealous individuals who are able to attain the stereotypical American dream, by their own merit. Hope lays in that precedence, so that today’s American people may do the same and reestablish their country in a position of power in the international system.

References

Friedman, Thomas L., and Michael Mandelbaum. That used to be us: how America fell behind in the world it invented and how we can come back. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,           2011.

Party Systems and Our Form of Democracy; the problem and a solution

Good morning, readers! As I am charging up for the day on my mandatory dosage of Fox News, I noticed myself wondering off the prescribed train of thought given by the morning anchors.

The headlines were not capturing my attention, rather the situations, actors, and leaders that took action to contribute to the event which warranted national audience(according to Fox producers). Specifically, how ignorant people must be to bring certain individuals to power within government (whose names I will not divulge at the risk of losing whatever sort of objectivity I had going into this post) and how we DEFINITELY need to institute a basic knowledge test to individuals attempting to register to vote.

But that's beside the point I hope to portray....

Is the system installed in the modern day United States truly the best form of democracy? Is the government an excellent representation of the people with both vertical and horizontal accountability, a strong sense of party identification?

The simple answer is no.

We have a Single Member District, First Past the Post (FPTP) system were a voter casts 1 vote to a candidate of their choosing who represents a party and runs on a platform projecting that parties' core values. Among other follies, this system offers an inherent sentiment of 'wasted votes'and little party identification resulting in lower voter turnout and uneducated voters.

To combat current electoral problems, I propose a consideration of the mixed proportional electoral system where voters casts 2 ballots;1 for a candidate and 1 for the party. Such a method eliminates the 2 party system, accurately represents it's constituents, increases party identification, every vote counts, and it maintains the same levels of vertical accountability (between the voter and the representative) as our FPTP system. Would congress be productive with the incredible diversity offered by mixed proportional?...possibly a topic for a different time.

Food for thought...

-Stephen