Greater America

the long version

Can democracy develop in Latin America without the United States' assistance? Why should the United States care? How is Latin America relevant to U.S. economic growth in global competition? In "Greater America: A New Partnership for the Americas in the Twenty-First Century", L. Ronald Scheman argues that our future lies not in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, but right here in our own backyard -- the Western Hemisphere. Scheman shows how the political and cultural legacy of colonization, immigration, assimilation, and pluralism binds North, Central, and South America, and how the trends in market growth and resources make the Americas a rich prize in global trade. Despite the tendency of many northerners to underestimate our ties, we are closer to our southern cousins than to any other society. That relationship will only gain strength given the growing and irrepressible influence of Latino and Caribbean populations in the United States. "Greater America" celebrates the condition of the Americas as one of the most important factors in the spread of human freedom in the last half millennium. -- From publisher's description.