America now faces formidable problems at home and abroad. This predicament is not entirely new. In previous eras the country surmounted severe crises, and it is important not to underestimate resilience and adaptability. Current concerns need to be seen against a history of pessimistic assessments, as, for example, during the Depression of the 1930s, the post-Vietnam era of the late 1970s, and again in the late 1980s when beliefs about Japan as “number one” and of the emergent EU as a world power were widely held. This suggests a common tendency to undervalue America's fundamental strengths and its ability to overcome adversity. Yet even those most optimistic about the American future must ask themselves whether this time it is different.

This concluding chapter begins with that question and then weighs the country’s persistent strengths and the critical importance of ideas, beliefs, and policies. The material aspects of national power matter greatly, but they shape outcomes only in very broad terms. Ultimately, it is the choices made about policy and strategy that are crucial. America’s future is a matter ofwill and willpower, in the sense that successful responses to our problems depend on purposeful and concerted action to address our most serious problems.