The Conservative Cat

Professor Nye begins by discussing the need for a two-pronged approach in solving world problems, involving both soft power (diplomacy) and hard power (defense).

That is what we did in the Cold War. Our hard military power helped to deter Soviet aggression while our soft power ate away the basis of communism behind the Iron Curtain.

Professor Nye is probably talking about Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech, an event generally considered the beginning of the end of the wall. It's worth noting, however, that Reagan's soft-power assault on the Berlin Wall does not once mention the need for a dialogue or asking permission from the French.

Later in the same article, Professor Nye makes a serious logical mistake.

We are failing to make that combination of hard and soft power in the so called "war on terrorism". We spend 450 times more on our hard military power than we do on our budget for public diplomacy (including broadcasts and exchanges).

Professor Nye has just compared apples to oranges. As happens so often, he equates the degree of commitment with the number of dollars spent. This dollar comparison technique is so bogus that it can be used to prove almost anything. For example, I can compare the salary of a school teacher to the salary of a major league baseball player to show that we don't place a high enough value on education. Alternatively, I can compare the $780 billion spent on education in 2001 to the $4.5 billion annual revenue for major league baseball to reach the opposite conclusion.

Furthermore, it's worth noting that soft power suffers from a serious drawback. While it is difficult for the rich and powerful to field their own army, they have an incredible tool for thwarting America's soft power strategy: the Huffington Post itself. We have articles explaining that peace in the Middle East is impossible, we can count on Bush to give up on Iraq, even conservatives oppose the war, and we can't recruit enough soldiers to staff the war.

I can understand how soft power can make a lot of sense if you're a university professor who is used to people hanging on your every word, but if you're an ordinary guy out here in the real world, soft power only works as the second phase of a two-phase plan, and the first phase-- getting all the liberals to shut up-- is never going to happen.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat