Ronald Reagan was a good President, but not a great one. The right has overrated him. With another critical Presidential election imminent, let me correctly assess his 8-year Presidency in terms of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
1. President Reagan: the good
He contributed significantly to the end of the Cold War in 1991. However, for historical accuracy, he has been over-credited for it. Two important factors:
- Mikhail Gorbachev: President Reagan was lucky to have dealt with him. Had the Soviet leader been Vladimir Putin during his Presidency, the Cold War would, most likely, not have been drawn down as it was.
- The event in China in 1989 triggered the collapse of communism, leading to the end of the Cold War.
For more, read Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping.
2. President Reagan: the bad
The MIC expanded rapidly on President Reagan’s watch, which was justified by the Cold War.
President Reagan was undoubtedly aware of President Dwight D. Eisenhower‘s explicit warning against the MIC (farewell address). Yet, despite this warning and an increasingly large amount of evidence of communism’s collapse already underway, he never even attempted to contain the MIC.
Bottom line: There was mounting evidence that Russian communism would have collapsed under its own weight, even without an arms race with America.
3. President Reagan: the ugly
President Reagan failed to understand the essential role of the government! For example, he succinctly defined American conservatism by the quote below.
However, the Federal government expanded rapidly on his watch, from the national debt to the number of federal employees, against the Libertarian tenet of a minimalist government. For more, read Ronald Reagan’s big government legacy.
Below is a famous quote.
The image below is simple reasoning.
For more, read The American Idea is a lie!
4. Discussion
While acknowledging Ronald Reagan as one of the good post-WWII American Presidents, I must highlight his shortcomings to be truthful to history and, more importantly, to draw lessons for our present and future.
The Cold War ended in 1991. Instead of pursuing world peace, America, the only superpower left on earth in terms of both economic and military power, aggressively expanded its global influence, both ideologically (i.e., democracy, which does not even work at home) and militarily (e.g., NATO, which is obsolete), with disastrous results not only for the past three decades but also for decades to come. Two informative readings:
What does this have to do specifically with President Reagan? Several Reagan doctrines have been distorted over the past few decades! Two examples:
- “Peace through strength”: The foundation of strength is a strong economy on which all other powers (e.g., military) depend. America is bankrupt – America can no longer afford to save the world while further bankrupting itself at home.
- American conservatism: President Reagan defined it as Libertarianism, which precludes unnecessary wars, such as the disastrous Iraq War.
5. Closing
Time is the best judge for everything, including American Presidents. But the sooner we can do it for President Reagan, the better for America!
For more, read History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.
