Today, in the first episode of Only in America, Condoleezza Rice speaks with Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang about his remarkable rise to the commanding heights of global technology; Steven Davis argues that restoring open trade and reforming the international trading system are vital to US security and prosperity; and Michael Auslin examines why the Superman franchise isn’t participating in the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations this year.
USA@250
Today, Nvidia is widely recognized as one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. But when founder and CEO Jensen Huang set out to build the company more than three decades ago, it was considered an extraordinarily risky bet on a new approach to computing. How did Huang, an immigrant from working-class roots in Taiwan, build Nvidia into a company at the center of the AI revolution—and could he have done so anywhere other than the United States? In the debut episode of Only in America, Condoleezza Rice sits down with Huang at Nvidia’s Silicon Valley headquarters to explore the experiences, opportunities, and institutions that shaped his remarkable journey. Huang reflects on coming to America as a child, the culture of ambition and innovation that influenced him, the vision that led him to found Nvidia, and the perseverance required to navigate years of uncertainty and skepticism. Throughout, Huang reflects on why he believes his story, and Nvidia’s, could only have happened in America. Watch here.
Economic and Security Commons Initiative
In this new article announcing the launch of The Commons Dispatch channel at Freedom Frequency, Senior Fellow and Director of Research Steven J. Davis argues that chaotic trade policy harms America’s economy, alienates allies, and disadvantages the US in its contest with China. An open, rules-oriented approach to international trade helped the United States and its allies grow their economies and prevail in the Cold War, Davis writes. In contrast, the chaotic character of recent US trade policy damages the economy, confuses and alienates allies, and undermines confidence in our system. The economist argues it also undercuts the US capacity to meet the economic and security challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China. Davis concludes that restoring trade openness and reforming the trading system are vital for US security and prosperity. The Commons Dispatch will feature pieces discussing how policymakers and citizens can work toward achieving these goals. Read more here.
Revitalizing History
At The California Post, Distinguished Research Fellow Michael Auslin asks why Superman doesn’t appear to be celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence this summer. “Dreamed up during the Depression in Cleveland by two Jewish teenagers who were the children of immigrants, Superman represents a patriotic faith in America’s values, not least because he himself is the ultimate immigrant,” the historian writes. But this century has seen publisher DC Comics choose to have Superman renounce his American citizenship and embrace a more global outlook. “In 1976, banners proclaiming ‘DC Comics Salutes the Bicentennial’ adorned not just Superman, but other titles,” notes Auslin. “Now, Superman is rootless: in America, but not of it, by DC’s standards.” Auslin calls on the comic publisher to “let Superman celebrate America on our 250th,” noting that the Man of Steel offers “a needed reminder to young Americans of the permanent values that have allowed us to self-correct and continue to strive to create a more perfect Union.” Read more here.
Middle East
Writing for a new issue of The Caravan, Hoover’s online journal of Middle East policy and history, Distinguished Visiting Fellow Vivek Lall analyzes the implications of the Iran war for American naval and China strategy. “American maritime strategy has long assumed that enough warships in contested waters equals deterrence,” Lall writes. “The Iran war has exposed the limits of that assumption.” Lall argues that Iran’s ongoing disruption of international maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz “is a challenge to the legal and practical foundations of the system that has underpinned global trade since 1945.” He concludes that if this challenge succeeds, the resulting message “will reach the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and every contested waterway where a state with shore based missiles calculates that closing a chokepoint is cheaper than confronting a navy.” Read more here.
Immigration Policy
“The United States has long had a secret weapon in global economic competition: the ability to attract the world’s most talented people to its universities, companies, and research labs,” Isabel Lopez Ysmael, assistant director of J-P Conte Initiative on Immigration at the Hoover Institution, writes in this article for the Hoover site. But she cautions that this “advantage is not guaranteed. It depends on policy choices—and those choices have consequences that extend far beyond any individual worker or firm.” The article introduces a series of recent videos featuring immigration policy experts discussing various aspects of the US immigration system, from H1-B visas to the impact of immigration policies on global collaboration and competition. Each video brings data and scholarship to bear on important questions of immigration policy, with a focus on high-skilled immigration. Read more here.
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