The Four Tests: What It Will Take to Keep America Strong and Good

by Daniel Baer Narrated by Travis Tonn

Overview

A “lucidly argued” (Kirkus Reviews), illuminating, and ultimately optimistic roadmap for America's future and the “tests” the United States must meet to maintain leadership and power in the 21st century-from the former US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In today's fraught global and political climate, the assumption that America maintains its dominant status in global politics is waning. The divisions between us, economic changes driven by globalization and technology, as well as climate change, pandemics, and the resurgence of authoritarianism, make it difficult to be optimistic about America's future. But what if we use this moment as an opportunity to think about what might come next, and how to build what we need to succeed?

If we're going to allow ourselves to diagnose a “polycrisis” then we should also admit the possibility of “polyprogress.” This book is a roadmap for those who want to take America's challenges head on, and who hold on to the conviction that we can tackle them.

In The Four Tests, Baer argues that we are living through a transition moment and lays out the four tests we must meet:

-Scale: Can the US maintain enough scale-or create a facsimile of it through deeper partnerships with friends and allies-as China and other countries continue to rise?
-Investment: Can the US muster and effectively direct resources toward investments, particularly investments in people, to lay a foundation for American success in the post-industrial economy?
-Fairness: Can the US address unfairnesses in its economy and society so that they don't stifle growth and undermine social cohesion in a more competitive world?
-Identity: Can Americans build a thin but shared political identity, inclusive of every American, that can hold us together and help us work together in a difficult global landscape?

While each test poses significant challenges, the US has advantages that some of our most vexing competitors lack. Meeting these tests demands changes in behavior and culture-from politicians, corporate leaders, and citizens. But if we meet these tests, then we can be confident of America's future. The question is not whether we can succeed-but whether we will.

Straightforward and hopeful, Baer's pragmatic approach will provide fodder for discussion for Trump-supporting aunts and their Elizabeth Warren-stan nephews far beyond the beltway.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Neither alarmist nor complacent . . . Against a confluence of negative megatrends, Baer’s tests of what he calls scale, investment, fairness, and identity don’t defy solution, but they resist easy ones. . . . Much to ponder in Baer’s lucidly argued platform.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is a book for those who still believe—in their fellow Americans, in our shared future, in what we can be and do together with patriotism, empathy, and hard work.” —Hillary Rodham Clinton

“Daniel Baer has written a book that every American should read: The diagnostic manual for the engine of national strength. The Four Tests is an unflinching but hopeful manifesto for any citizen who wants to look clearly at ourselves and make practical choices for the future.” —Evan Osnos, author of Wildland: The Making of America's Fury

“America works when Americans put in the work. In The Four Tests, Daniel Baer puts forward an ambitious agenda for building an America that is stronger, healthier, and more united—agree or disagree, his ideas are worth engaging seriously. In a world where we face geopolitical threats from the likes of Xi, Putin, and Kim Jong Un, Baer makes a case for a new vision of American leadership.” —Ben Sasse, author of Them: Why We Hate Each Other—and How to Heal

“Daniel Baer makes the very strong case that America can continue to compete and lead in this complex, challenging world—and that we can do so by committing anew to our people and our principles. The Four Tests is a must-read!” —Penny Pritzker, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Kirkus Reviews

2023-08-26
A diplomacy expert examines four large areas the U.S. must negotiate if the nation is to endure as a democracy.

Baer posits that the U.S. faces a “polycrisis” made worse by the fact that so many in the polity have given up faith that anything can be done about such things as political polarization and climate change. The author proposes four multipronged approaches. The areas include the problem of scale, which effectively asks, in a world of population decline and bars to immigration, whether the America of today will remain large enough to hold a leading position in the current global pecking order. Neither alarmist nor complacent, he suggests that “the U.S. must adapt to a future in which it has less coercive power over other states,” sensible enough given that many of the existential threats we face are not exactly political, but instead demand international coordination and cooperation. Building scale means having the people to do it, which means an immigration policy that encourages a continued flow of new Americans to contribute. That in turn opens up onto the question of how to fund the education necessary for innovation in a time when education is both defunded and scant resources are directed to wealthier white districts—and this when “the majority of people under age sixteen in the United States identify as nonwhite.” Against a confluence of negative megatrends, Baer’s tests of what he calls scale, investment, fairness, and identity don’t defy solution, but they resist easy ones: “There is no single policy, no awakening, no cultural shift that can address any one of them.” Yet we must “take a leap of faith” because, he concludes, “In the end, really, what choice do we have?”

Policy wonks and activists will find much to ponder in Baer’s lucidly argued platform.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159887986
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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