U.S. Abandoning the Long Game

The United States is trending toward cultural and political short‑termism — prioritizing nostalgia, immediate payouts and intra‑term politics — which erodes the capacity to plan and invest for multi‑decade strategic competition. Meanwhile, rivals (notably China) are deliberately building long‑horizon institutions, infrastructure and narratives that lock in influence over future generations. — If true, this explains why current US policy debates (from permitting to industrial strategy to civic education) are not just domestic problems but central to whether Washington can shape the international order over decades.