The ART Of Business

The 21st Century: American Ascendancy

July 4, 2014

As we celebrate Independence Day, let's remember, as Bruce Cumings points out in his seminal work A Dominion From Sea to Sea, that America is a unique place.

It is the only truly continental power in human history, with vibrant costal regions on each of the planet's biggest oceans; and, a dynamic Middle Region that houses the greatest industrial machine ever.

Cumings speaks of American Ascendancy, and argues, correctly, that we are only at the beginning stages.

The 21st Century will be the American Century, as the nation continues to expand human civilization across the Pacific: an expansion that began 6,000 years ago in the Mediterranean, migrated across Europe, then the Atlantic, and most recently, the Western U.S.

While there are many big challenges facing the Republic, the dynamic nature of our country will adapt, improvise, and ultimately, overcome - as it always has.

Happy 4th of July!

About the Author

Andrew R. Thomas Blog | Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business

Andrew R. Thomas, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing and international business at the University of Akron; and, a member of the core faculty at the International School of Management in Paris, France.

He is a bestselling business author/editor, whose 23 books include, most recently, American Shale Energy and the Global Economy: Business and Geopolitical Implications of the Fracking Revolution, The Customer Trap: How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake in Business, Global Supply Chain Security, The Final Journey of the Saturn V, and Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service and Safety.

His book The Distribution Trap was awarded the Berry-American Marketing Association Prize for the Best Marketing Book of 2010. Another work, Direct Marketing in Action, was a finalist for the same award in 2008.

Andrew is founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Security and a regularly featured analyst for media outlets around the world.

He has traveled to and conducted business in 120 countries on all seven continents.