| If the United States faces a second Cold War, can we win it? That is the provocative question columnist Matt Bai asks — and he provides an unsettling answer: maybe not. Not because we don't wield the same financial or military clout as in the last round, but because, this time, we may lack the conviction — in democracy itself. "We won the Cold War not because we had better soldiers or more reliable weapons or more disposable income, although all of those were advantages," Bai writes. "We won because we were right." About the superiority of capitalism over communism. About liberal democracy over statist repression. And with that, a warning: "Just because you win a war once, though, doesn't mean you're destined to win it again. And if we think the nation is up for another extended standoff with Russian tyranny, then we need to face the frightening state of the democracy that was once our greatest strength." This, Bai suggests, may explain part of Putin's willingness to risk the confrontation. "Through Putin's lens, we probably look nothing at all like the steely country that won the Cold War, with an almost theological devotion to free markets and free minds," Bai observes. "He must see us as a country increasingly like his own, willing to indulge our own brands of tyranny and propaganda, riven by tribal tensions and intolerant of dissent." Can we blame him? Is there a way to avoid proving him right? There is a lot to consider in this important piece, and a lot to worry about. | Weapons alone didn't win the first Cold War. And they won't win the next one, either. By Matt Bai ● Read more » |    | | | What are the strategic and geopolitical consequences of Russia's invasion? By Robert Kagan ● Read more » | | | | If Russia wins its battle to subjugate Ukraine, the new era will be a dangerous one. By David Ignatius ● Read more » | | | | | Since the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Russia has fortified itself against the West's economic weapons. By Sebastian Mallaby ● Read more » | | | | The educational achievement of gay men could show what is possible when you ditch traditional masculinity. By Joel Mittleman ● Read more » | | | | | Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas made the headlines at the Ivy League championships, but her competitors worked just as hard to get there. By Megan McArdle ● Read more » | | | | Every day, moving about the city, I fear for my safety. By Michelle Lee ● Read more » | | | | | Living around Lake Tahoe means living in bear country, except the bears no longer follow nature's path. By Julie Brown ● Read more » | | | A Norwegian court ruling banning two breeds brings up difficult moral questions. By Helaine Olen ● Read more » | | | |
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