The Economic Dominance of the United States Essay

The Economic Dominance of the United States - Essay Example On the other hand, however, people who worked in the Soviet economy were given very little incentive to be more productive. Everybody was given a quota to meet and once that was done, then no more was required of them. The economic dominance of the United States was because its economy was basically in private hands with very little interference from the government. The encouragement of private enterprise in the United States is the reason why its economy prospered and why the most dominant multinationals in the world at that time came from this country. When compared with other economic powers such as that of the Soviet Union, the latter’s did not have enough opportunity to ensure that it was diversified enough to stay competitive on the global scene. While the United States economy remained dominant for a period of some thirty years and benefitted many of its citizens, it was also detrimental to many people, not only in the United States itself but also in the developing countries where its companies conducted their activities. The capitalist economic system of the United States created a situation where there developed an unprecedented level of unemployment not only within the country but also in developing countries (Keohane 5). Because of the vicious and predatory nature of the capitalist system, one of the main causes of unemployment was when companies went out of business. In many instances, this came as a surprise and people were hardly ever prepared in case they were suddenly unemployed. Gerschenkron is of the opinion that the United States’ economy was maintained through its exploitation of the developing countries, the latter being the source of cheap raw materials for the American industries (102).