OPINION:
America’s competition with China is unlike any rivalry we’ve faced. It tests which system delivers greater security and prosperity hallmarks of human flourishing for its people.
While we hope China becomes more free and democratic like us, some at home are working to make us more like them: socialist and authoritarian.
To win this contest and usher in a new Golden Age, we must not only counter China abroad but defeat the socialist vision rising at home. Returning to our founding principles is the best way to do that, and honoring biblical values is another; after all, a republic fortified by faith is more impervious to the socialist temptation
The United States became the greatest country not just because of its resources but because of the genius of the Framers. Inspired in part by Judeo-Christian values, they shaped a Constitution of enumerated powers, separate branches and limited federal jurisdiction that created a massive free-trade area based on property rights and freedom of contract. By enshrining individual liberty and limited government, they set the conditions for rapid development and unlocked the God-given creative energy of generations of Americans.
That vision is under threat. Progressives have erected an unaccountable administrative Leviathan in the name of democracy, limiting rights in the name of protecting them and gutting equality in the name of equity. We must resist this project as we resist Beijing’s power abroad.
Thanks to originalist Supreme Court appointments, the Constitution is slowly being restored by paring back the rule of deep-state “experts” and expansive federal reach. Less Washington means more innovation an unbeatable edge over command-and-control Beijing. As James Madison famously wrote in Federalist No. 51, if men were angels, we wouldn’t need government and if men were ruled by angels, we wouldn’t need checks on their power. The restoration of constitutional checks and balances is key to preserving the liberty that leads to flourishing.
John Adams noted that our government was made for “a moral and religious people.” Such citizens govern themselves first at the levels of individual, family and civil society and only secondarily through distant officials. A small government and moral citizenry once combined with an open frontier to catalyze family formation and growth. Cheap land and an infrastructure of canals and railroads stitched the economy together. The Northwest Ordinance and Homestead Act created an ownership society and a broad middle class. After World War II, suburban expansion continued that journey to self-reliance.
Today, housing and transportation are too expensive for young families. The federal government should open portions of federal land for settlement or sell assets to fund family formation. States and localities must slash zoning and building codes that make single-family homes the overwhelming choice of couples planning children prohibitively expensive. Modular methods and improved transportation can restore a modern frontier and a middle class that underwrites a strong and flourishing nation.
We must also confront China’s direct influence. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party and is a treasure trove of data about Americans. Its content often dulls users with addictive distractions that prevent them from using their gifts and carrying out their vocations to the fullest, while in China the same platform is patriotic and educational. We should ban TikTok unless its algorithms and data are placed beyond Beijing’s reach.
Next, we must reduce and ideally eliminate our dependency on China for critical supply chains. We should begin with products essential to our military, economy and healthcare, and tighten export controls to prevent China from acquiring U.S. frontier technologies in semiconductors and AI. At the same time, we must recognize that only through innovation and competition can we ultimately maintain our technological edge. American industries don’t need endless subsidies or heavy-handed regulation; they need a government that fosters innovation by regulating and taxing only where absolutely necessary.
The United States must also reorient its defense doctrine around the Indo-Pacific. That means prioritizing military planning and resources toward Asia, deploying forward forces, and modernizing capabilities for cyber, space and hybrid warfare. Alliances with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and India must deepen, and economic, technological and energy policies should support this strategy. European allies must shoulder more responsibility against Russia so America can focus on Asia, where the stakes are highest.
Our contest with China will be won or lost at home. If we cap government, rebuild moral capital, restore ownership and family formation, secure our data and supply chains, and align our military posture with global realities, the United States will remain the world’s leading nation.
The Framers’ bet on limited government, liberty and the sacred worth of the individual under God remains the surest path to victory in the 21st-century contest with Beijing and to the freedom that will allow humanity to flourish long into the future.
• Derrick Morgan is the executive vice president of the Heritage Foundation.
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