The Moral Case For American Goodness Endures

The modern United States of America is one of the richest, happiest, and most productive societies ever to exist. The U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with a per capita gross national income of $55,351 – ahead of power players like Germany, Bahrain, Canada, and France – and an overall annual GDP of $17.7 trillion (second only to Red China’s). Beyond mere wealth, the nation posts a .926 on the Human Development Index used by the U.N. to measure health, education, and general welfare within states – just .31 back from leaders like comparatively tiny Norway, and only .74 away from hypothetical perfection. For purposes of comparison, China, our primary rival these days, posts a .761 on the Index and comes in at 85th place globally. The U.S. utterly dominates world pop culture, bringing joy to hundreds of millions of people; competes annually for the global lead in new patents; and even scores as one of the top ten nation-states on IQ. 

Our past was no less remarkable than our present. The United States was one of the first large modern democracies and one of the only nations ever founded specifically to uphold the principles of individual freedom and liberty. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are among mankind’s historical treasures, and the American protections for free speech and the private use of arms remain unparalleled in the First World. Between our founding and today, the United States expanded from 13 constituent states to 50, won the Civil War and freed slaves in the South, broke Hitler’s Nazis, built the interstate highway system, and put the first man on the moon – among many other accomplishments. The U.S. draws millions of immigrants annually from around the world: we boast the highest foreign-born population on the planet by a factor of roughly four to one.

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