David Gordon is a senior adviser for the Geoeconomics and Strategy program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He previously served as director of policy planning under former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and as vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council under former president George W. Bush.
To help expand and sustain America’s middle class, U.S. foreign policy makers need a new agenda that will rebuild trust at home and abroad.
As millions of Americans contend with lost wages and savings due to the coronavirus, the challenge of making U.S. foreign policy work harder for the middle class is even more vital.
While the U.S. economy has been growing and unemployment rates have fallen, too many Americans still struggle to sustain a middle-class lifestyle. Are changes to U.S. foreign policy required to better advance the economic well-being of America’s middle class?
Policymakers need to explore ways to make U.S. foreign policy work better for America’s middle class, even if their economic fortunes depend largely on domestic factors and policies.