A guest column by Mark Zupan, Alfred University president, was published over the weekend in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. In the piece, Zupan discusses how the world’s great nations have risen, and fallen, based on their willingness to welcome other people, cultures, and ideas.
A guest column by Mark Zupan, Alfred University president, was published over the weekend in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. In the piece, Zupan discusses how the world’s great nations have risen, and fallen, based on their willingness to welcome other people, cultures, and ideas.
The column, titled "The value of openness in enriching nations,” appeared in the Sunday, Oct. 19, issue of the Democrat and Chronicle. “History shows that countries thrive when they are open and languish when they limit talent, thought and trade,” Zupan writes.
Zupan pointed to several once-powerful civilizations and nations—Rome, China, the Ottoman Empire, and the Venetian Republic—which built thriving societies by welcoming free trade and the open exchange of culture and ideas. All declined when they isolated themselves from the rest of the world.
“History is clear,” Zupan writes. “Openness enriches nations. Closing off talent, thought and trade leads to national decline. Countries that ignore these lessons risk becoming museums or mausoleums.”
