Luce's famous essay “The American Century” called on Americans to accept their special “duty and opportunity” in the post-World War II era. They should, he wrote, exert “the full impact” of their influence on the world in four ways: through promoting systems of free enterprise, propagating training in practical, technical skills, becoming the Good Samaritan to the entire world in times of hunger and need, and spreading their ideals of freedom and justice. A central premise of Luce's essay was its identification of American power with the attractions of its culture. Luce's American Century was not articulated as a vision resting on arms buildups, nuclear capacity, covert intrigue, or other forms of realpolitik. It stemmed from the long tradition that identified American influence (or Americanization) with an inevitable and presumably welcomed process of cultural and economic modernization. Luce's essay provides an embarkation point for considering the ways in which visions of modernity and Americanization interrelated with messages about gender roles, particularly changing roles for women.