--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An economically confident America has…" description: "\"An economically confident America has - since becoming a world power at the start of the 20th century - tended toward global engagement. It is during t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg" --- # An economically confident America has - since becoming a… ![“An economically confident America has - since becoming a world power at the start of the 20th century - tended toward global engagement. It is during times of economic stress (1930s, 1970s) that America has become more withdrawn.” quote by Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg) > “An economically confident America has - since becoming a world power at the start of the 20th century - tended toward global engagement. It is during times of economic stress (1930s, 1970s) that America has become more withdrawn.” [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America engages globally when economically strong; during downturns it retreats. **In simple terms:** Economic strength drives global involvement. Key Takeaway Strengthen economy to stay engaged. Themes economics foreign policy history engagement Mood analytical strategic Type historical political When to use this quote - policy planning - business strategy - educational curricula - public discourse Key Concepts globalization economic cycles national power Questions to Reflect On - What other forces influence America's global role? - How can resilience be built during downturns? A Different Perspective Economic factors aren't the only drivers; ideology matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We have built up, through our global engagement, a set of institutions that have been built on trust, fundamentally on trust, where allies had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivo-daalder/we-have-built-up-through-our-global-engagement-a-set-of-institutions/) [Ivo Daalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivo-daalder/) > [House Republican women are trailblazers in their own right, and we are focused on a bold, forward-looking agenda to restore a confident America, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/house-republican-women-are-trailblazers-in-their-own-right-and-we-are/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [A united, confident America should easily be able to counter Putin's whataboutism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/a-united-confident-america-should-easily-be-able-to-counter-putin-s/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [Speaker Ryan's vision for a confident America, both at home and abroad, reflects his thoughtful leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-griffin/speaker-ryan-s-vision-for-a-confident-america-both-at-home-and-abroad/) [Kenneth C. Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-griffin/) > [I was confident about America and the idea that in America people can become American without masking their ethnic identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/i-was-confident-about-america-and-the-idea-that-in-america-people-can/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [I'm confident that America's foreign policy rebalance to the region will endure beyond my presidency because it's in the national interest of the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-m-confident-that-america-s-foreign-policy-rebalance-to-the-region/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As president, I decided that a strong, confident America could advance our national security by engaging directly with the Iranian government. We've seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-president-i-decided-that-a-strong-confident-america-could-advance/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In your generation, everybody is constantly bombarded with all kinds of different input from different cultures, and that's a strength, that's a positive thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/in-your-generation-everybody-is-constantly-bombarded-with-all-kinds/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I don't think you should go into politics until you can stand on your own two feet economically, if possible, and you know enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/i-don-t-think-you-should-go-into-politics-until-you-can-stand-on-your/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [People who graduate are more resilient financially, and they weather economic downturns better than people who don't graduate. And, throughout their lives, people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/people-who-graduate-are-more-resilient-financially-and-they-weather/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Footage of people camped out at Best Buy or elsewhere is not remotely a celebration. Rather, it's a reminder of just how economically distressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/footage-of-people-camped-out-at-best-buy-or-elsewhere-is-not-remotely/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [For the European Union, Russia is as important politically and economically as China is to the U.S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-krastev/for-the-european-union-russia-is-as-important-politically-and/) [Ivan Krastev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-krastev/) > [It's not unreasonable to imagine that, at least as we're in a transition to a world economy, it's still necessary now to pay attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/it-s-not-unreasonable-to-imagine-that-at-least-as-we-re-in-a/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [In fact, in my adult lifetime, I don't think I've ever seen people as fearful economically as they are right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/in-fact-in-my-adult-lifetime-i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-seen-people-as/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Communism is a monopolistic system, economically and politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/communism-is-a-monopolistic-system-economically-and-politically/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) ## More by Thomas P.M. Barnett > [Once Europe's colonial empires were sent into deep decline, thanks to World War II, America became globalization's primary replicating force, integrating Asia into its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/once-europe-s-colonial-empires-were-sent-into-deep-decline-thanks-to/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Despite living in this post-9/11 age of transnational terrorism, the risk of death during air travel has plummeted to the point where we now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/despite-living-in-this-post-9-11-age-of-transnational-terrorism-the/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [There is no battle space the U.S. Military cannot access. They said we couldn't do Afghanistan. We did it with ease. They said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/there-is-no-battle-space-the-u-s-military-cannot-access-they-said-we/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [To ask a country with 750 million people living on less than a dollar a day to optimize their development for the environment as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/to-ask-a-country-with-750-million-people-living-on-less-than-a-dollar/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Most Americans have little idea of how far our nation's worldwide standing had fallen by the end of the Bush administration; no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/most-americans-have-little-idea-of-how-far-our-nation-s-worldwide/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [What makes a terrorist? Are the drivers primarily political or economic? Princeton economist Alan Krueger has made a great study of this question...What Makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/what-makes-a-terrorist-are-the-drivers-primarily-political-or/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Crafty politician that he is, Obama was smart enough to set low enough standards for his administration to claim 'victory' by the summer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/crafty-politician-that-he-is-obama-was-smart-enough-to-set-low-enough/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Some Western demographers have posited, due to the female shortage created by the one-child policy, that China will be forced to field a vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/some-western-demographers-have-posited-due-to-the-female-shortage/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [During the cold war, it was easy for the Pentagon to justify its budget, as the Soviets essentially sized our forces for us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/during-the-cold-war-it-was-easy-for-the-pentagon-to-justify-its/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [I don't think, post 9/11, we're going to wait for real obvious things like Country A attacking Country B - because Country A doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/i-don-t-think-post-9-11-we-re-going-to-wait-for-real-obvious-things/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [You cant drag people from understanding to action. A customer isnt actually at the last mile if youre the one dragging her to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/you-cant-drag-people-from-understanding-to-action-a-customer-isnt/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Great powers reserve the right to police bad actors in their neighborhoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/great-powers-reserve-the-right-to-police-bad-actors-in-their/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [The Department of Homeland Security is a strategic feel good measure. It's going to be the Department of Agriculture for the 21st century. TSA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/the-department-of-homeland-security-is-a-strategic-feel-good-measure/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Is there anything about cyberspace that particularly screams Air Force? Not really. If cyber warfare is going to be as all-encompassing as it's made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/is-there-anything-about-cyberspace-that-particularly-screams-air/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [China's headlong rush to industrialize was pursued with the most Marxist of prejudices - bending nature to man's will. That's a desperately hard trick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/china-s-headlong-rush-to-industrialize-was-pursued-with-the-most/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) [Explore all 41 Thomas P.M. Barnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An economically confident America has - since becoming a world power at the start of the 20th century - tended toward global engagement. It is during times of economic stress (1930s, 1970s) that America has become more withdrawn.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas P.M. Barnett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/an-economically-confident-america-has-since-becoming-a-world-power-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "20th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/an-economically-confident-america-has-since-becoming-a-world-power-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/thomas-p-m-barnett-15900_20th-century_an-economically-confident-america-has-si_742108.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An economically confident America has - since becoming a world power at the start of the 20th century…” — Thomas P.M. Barnett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas P.M. Barnett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An economically confident America has -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/an-economically-confident-america-has-since-becoming-a-world-power-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/an-economically-confident-america-has-since-becoming-a-world-power-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```