Elizabeth Warren said two things last night I wish more people were picking up on and talking about, because I think they’re both very important, both on their own merits and with regard to the actual powers of the office of the Presidency.
One, in reference to Afghanistan, she talked about putting an end to the American practice of tasking our military to solve problems that don’t have military solutions. Most problems don’t, and we’d be much better served as a nation to think less about warfighting and more about building a stable, sustainable world in which every human has what they need to thrive and live a meaningful (to them) life, using all of the tools in our toolbox, and not just the hammer.
Two, she talked about leveraging the power and prosperity of the American market to pressure other countries to bring their environmental, human rights, and labor practices into alignment with our highest values. Not only does this make the world better on the merits, it’s also good for the American economy, because it disincentivizes companies taking jobs elsewhere because labor is cheaper and there are fewer regulations. It’s power we have, but choose not to use, because our government has been captured by corrupt oligarchs who’d rather make a buck than the world a better place.
Not only are these things more relevant to the Presidential election than the healthcare debate (which is, help us all, the purview of Congress), they constitute a sea change in approaching previously intractable problems, and are one of the best — if not first — articulations of a genuinely progressive foreign policy I’m aware of. People can agree or disagree, but it’s a fundamental shift in approach that merits discussion and (to my mind) celebration and support.
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She does make sense in many ways and she has the courage to speak up. I greatly admire her. A progressive foreign policy? What a change, since we have no foreign policy now.