Look to the future and not ideologies of the past

I AM writing in response to Stephen King’s column “Do we really want the American era to end? Consider the alternatives ...” (September 30).

For King, and for so many other analysts, it seems politics is an us vs them game. Left vs right, democracy vs autocracy, liberalism vs conservatism.

The prevailing attitude among politicians and analysts is an acceptance that the American system is imperfect but better than the alternatives. But if history has taught us anything it's taught us to never rest on our laurels; everything can be improved upon, refined and developed. But politics, particularly democratic politics, should be viewed as a river and not a rock — the world is changing and it’s time we looked towards the developments of the future rather than clinging to the ideologies of the past. Some of what King damns the Chinese administration for (namely bolstering violent regimes and creating turmoil through foreign policy) is equally applicable to the USA. The American system is stumbling, but the system is stumbling for a reason. We shouldn’t look to defend it blindly, rather look at how it can be improved. Citing autocratic China as the only real alternative is Cold War thinking — we should consider political development and innovation as a more sensible alternative.

Joe Galvin

Harold’s Cross

Dublin 6W