ABSTRACT
A new argument began to receive serious consideration in the United States: American security commitments throughout the globe could no longer be maintained at their levels without a substantial sharing of that burden with allies. Samuel P. Huntington's essay in Foreign Affairs describes how the gap between America's security commitments and her ability to maintain those commitments could be corrected by substitute arrangements, but only if allies exert greater effort to share the burden, such as paying a defense tax to the United States. Shigeru Yoshida, prime minister from October 1948 to October 1954, was the political leader who opted for the strategy under which Japan would accept the new constitution and the security treaty, thus giving the country free rein to devote all its energies to economic development. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
