The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
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Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#2[deleted]
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#3I'm shocked that CBS would publish such a sober and realistic assessment of how damaging the wars of the past decade have been, and how horrifying the end of the petrodollar will be.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#4Note: Published December 5, 2010.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#5War will not happen between the US and China (2 economies which are inexorably intertwined) for no other reason than it will be exceedingly bad for business.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#6Most empires end through overreach. The tiny nuggets at the center of the Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, British, Austrian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German and Japanese empires couldn't maintain the many nationalities they lorded over. So they collapsed. The Soviets lasted a long time, despite their worthless, murderous government, simply because the Russians had a huge core in the center.
The American empire received its death blow in 1965. The barbarians were not at the gates. There were no gates. The barbarians were invited, by the millions and millions, from hundreds or thousands of miles away, at the bequest of the American elites, to conquer a continent at no risk to themselves. That is what historians--probably Chinese historians--will write about decades from now about America...in mystified, contemptuous marvel at American stupidity.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#7While I cant say whether this it right or wrong, I find these are articles to be extremely rigid in their determining facts. Just like in the professional world there is a massive difference between becoming an industry player and an extremely dominant company. Through a tech lense, just because snapchat is growing faster than facebook, does not make snapchat Facebook in 2020. The underscoring of the civil growing pains of wealth inequity, western influence amongst consumption, civil unrest and basic quality of life problems (India and China) are never taken into account. Its always, their economy is expanding so given enough time they will win.
In a worse case scenario I see a melding of eastern and western ideals set up against a terrible widening of the wealth inequity. The big sharp edge of a connected economy is that people with power and information asyemtry can now use global communication to economically conquer areas much larger than their immediate reach (list it used to be). The more likely scenario here is a world reset, than a post-American future.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#8No one can predict the future, and this is sensationalism and speculation, not reasoned journalism.
Let's talk about the "fall" of the UK. The British have universal healthcare and London is a leading global city. The biggest things that can be said for bad about the UK are (1) that London is extremely expensive, and (2) that the weather sucks. (1) is true but hardly seems to have anything to do with global decline; (2) is easy enough to deal with when you have $50 airfares to Spain and Italy and 5 weeks of vacation required by law.
So... is that what "decline" looks like? It doesn't sound so bad.
The UK certainly did have a period of economic privation that was longer than ours. Ours fit neatly between a stock market crash (1929) and the end of a war (1945) while theirs lingered on for about 15 years longer. That wasn't because the British Empire fell. That was because Britain got thoroughly devastated by Nazi bombing, while we lost one military base in Hawaii. Even the countries that "won" World Wars I and II mostly lost, economically speaking.
Sure, the American Empire is toast. It's already fading in importance, and the economic and cultural malaise that OP argues come along with imperial collapse are already happening. In fact, the pattern of ignominious military misadventure didn't start in 2003 with Iraq; the war in Vietnam was worse. Does this mean that we're headed for economic collapse or World War III? No. Sure, those things could happen. I don't see them as especially likely.
The American Empire is unwinding because nation-states themselves are becoming less relevant. The global elite (which includes many highly wealthy Americans, but has no allegiance to any specific country or ideology) has pushed aside the national elites. They don't matter anymore, except for ceremonial purposes. The rise of the global elite (the WEF fuckheads) isn't a good thing. For all of its flaws, the WASP aristocracy was a hell of a lot more virtuous and pro-democratic (and, more to the point, it gave a shit what happened to the U.S.) than the new elite of Russian blatnoy-oligarchs and the oil sheikhs from countries where it's legal to fuck a 9-year-old (if you're married to her). Where this global elite is headed, and what the rest of us in the 99.99% will have to do with or to them is another discussion, and I don't care to have it...
This idea that the U.S. is destined for economic ruin, however, has no basis. Sure, there are some nasty problems we're going to face, nationally and globally. But there has never been a time in history when that wasn't the case.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#9Most empires end through overreach. The tiny nuggets at the center of the Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, British, Austrian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German and Japanese empires couldn't maintain the many nationalities they lorded over. So they collapsed. The Soviets lasted a long time, despite their worthless, murderous government, simply because the Russians had a huge core in the center. The American empire received it…
the sad thing is that you have such weak confidence in U.S.A.'s capability to assimilating immigrants.
Of course I admit it is harder to assimilate Muslims. But East Asians? East Asians are probably more white than white in accepting U.S.A value system.
Re: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (2010)
#10War will not happen between the US and China (2 economies which are inexorably intertwined) for no other reason than it will be exceedingly bad for business.
War will not happen between the US and China (2 economies which are inexorably intertwined) for no other reason than it will be exceedingly bad for business.
One could have said this about the U.S. and Germany in 1927.
I don't think war between the U.S. and China is likely, and I certainly hope it would never happen because no one would win that, but I don't think that argument has historic validity.