Driven by a passion for progress and liberty, Yalies have given their lives for independence, fought in wars against authoritarianism, protested in defiance of imperialism and fought for human rights. So where do we go from here?

As state-sponsored oppression in defense of the failed idea of nationhood continues to promote economic inequality, wars and even genocide, our task becomes clearer every day. Our end of history is the outset of a new hegemony: American-led democratic peace. Free trade, globalization and eroding sovereignty remain the best path to liberty and justice that the promise of American influence can entail.

The forces of the Newest Left at Yale are strong, from anti-sweatshop activists to financial aid reformers to professors teaching redistribution of wealth. But in this last piece of writing as a Yale Daily News columnist and as a Yale student, I implore them directly: Put democracy, peace and development above and beyond your goal of equality.

The coming defining fight of this Yale generation is to keep America engaged in the world, to overthrow the remaining authoritarian regimes and to spread the benefits of development southward and eastward.

Milan Milenkovic is a senior in Trumbull College.