Two candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination—Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—have declared war on American capitalism. Columnist Bret Stephens cites Brian Riedl of the Manhattan Institute, who has tried to calculate the costs of the programs these two candidates have proposed

The United States faces a new world order as we begin 2020. It is an unstable world filled with uncertainties and significant threats. It is thus important to remind ourselves as Americans that Russia and China remain the two formidable enemies of the US. Each has goals that run counter to American interests and each poses both a global and a military danger. We must understand them.

Wisdom is a curious term, often difficult to define. The Bible presents wisdom as a practical outworking of profound truths centered in God’s Word. Several times it affirms that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (e.g., Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7). The wisdom literature of the Old Testament further adds terms such as prudence, discernment, understanding, and discretion to characteristics of wisdom. As we begin 2020, perhaps it is beneficial to refresh our understanding of what a life of wisdom looks like.

In Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” the dialogue between the ghost of Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge is most enlightening. As Scrooge protests Marley’s intervention, he declares that Marley “was always a good man of business,” to which Marley responds: “Business! . . . Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business: charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.” The feverish materialism of the Christmas season seems to side with Scrooge’s miserly greed, not Marley’s redeemed perspective.

In 1947 C.S. Lewis published The Abolition of Man, in which he charted the “negation of human dignity in the name of progress.” He lived long enough to see the accuracy of his assessment: “For the power of Man to make himself what he pleases means, as we have seen, the power of some men to make other men what they please.” Historian Joseph Loconte of King’s College speaks of “an echo of another era of medical innovation amid moral ambiguity.”

Medical doctors are beginning to link the devastating wave of lung injuries and deaths to the vaping of marijuana. [Invented in China in the early 2000s, vaping refers to an “electronic cigarette,” which uses heating elements to vaporize liquids, usually containing nicotine, but now also containing an ingredient from marijuana.]

The American democratic experiment is in trouble. Founded on the principles of equality and liberty of all citizens before the law, the Constitution protects the “free exercise” of religious beliefs in the First Amendment. Throughout the history of this Republic, the national government has fought to protect the free exercise of religious beliefs.

The United States had been negotiating with Turkey for months to establish a safe zone in the Middle East that would protect both Kurdish and Turkish interests, all the while maintaining the remarkable gains made against the Islamic State (ISIS). But, to the astonishment of everyone, after a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Trump ordered US troops to retreat from northern Syria.

Recently, the American Psychological Association (APA) declared that “polyamory,” “swinging,” and “relationship anarchy” are “healthy and ethical.” The APA is a powerful organization that has a significant influence over how public school educators plan and write curriculum. Will public educators who are educating and training the next generation of leaders in America, buy into this declaration?

As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, a new world order is emerging. To some extent, the role of the US is diminished somewhat, but America remains the undisputed leader militarily. The clout of the US economically and financially has been impacted by the trade and financial polices of President Trump. The longer term impact of these policies remains to be seen.