Is America place at the head of the class, finished? Well-known intellectuals, think tank thunkers, and MSM elite seem to think so.
Citing headlines from the Times asking "who shrunk the superpower?" to Fareed Zakaria's book, The Post-American World, and the French foreign minister saying of America's standing, “The magic is over . . . It will never be as it was before." It seems like a logical conclusion: The US Party of A is over. Take the streamers down.
But! According to this piece in World Affairs it's not the first time such talk has been bandied about, and it's hardly cause for panic.
The United States does contend with serious problems at home and abroad, but these prophecies of doom, which spread like a computer virus, hardly reflect a rational appraisal of where we stand. Moreover, it is not too difficult to see the ghosts of declinism past in the current rush to pen America’s epitaph. Gloomsayers have been with us, after all, since this country’s founding.
Though it sure seems like the drumbeat of America fading is a new millennial challenge, it's not. It reared up in the late-18th century from royalists, the 1920s and 30s from fascists, the 1970s from similar challenges to the ones the country is facing today (shored up by Jimmy Carter's malaise speech) and became terribly chic in the 1980s. Bashing America's standing is in like shoulder pads.
Are the "declinists," pointing to the Bush doctrine, over-stretched military, and squashed economy right — is the US out of first place? Or is history just repeating itself?
Burton
Michael Kors
Promod
We're becoming more European!
1God I hope not.
2There will always be naysayers, and we've always had our bumps in the road that the pessimists can't seem to look beyond (think about our history).
3When things go wrong it doesn't mean its the end, and I guarantee its not the end for U.S.
...But China sure is on our tail!
european?!
4The thrill is gone
5well if you think about anything hard enough, you can decide it's all going to hell and you should just give up and hunker down.
6I don't think it's U.S. bashing to say we don't dominate the world as we once might have - we certainly still lead. I do think we run the risk of spreading ourselves too thin in the Middle East and that could damage to us.
7btw, on a side note I read zakaria's future of freedom for a first amendment graduate class, pretty interesting. worth checking out from the library.
8We haven't shrunk, everyone else is growing and they're growing at our encouragement. I don't understand how we can say on the one hand America is a leader which implies we're leading some one and when they get to were they're led its bad news.
9This is what people don't get there's going to be a hell of a lot more elbows on the table and good luck if you're at the end. The world can only support so much capitalism/consumerism/militarism and when we reach the ceiling everyone is either going to look around and mutually decide we have to resign from this game or there's going to be one hell of a fight.
10jealousy usually makes people try to beat ya down.
11"We haven't shrunk, everyone else is growing and they're growing at our encouragement."
Great point. Does anyone else ever think about the fact that our country is only a little over 200 years old? It sometimes scares me that we rose to such crazy heights of power so quickly (in the grand scheme of things), that we could fall as quickly.
12I don't think that Fareed Zakaria's book was "bashing" the US. It just talked about how there is going to be more players at the top of the pile as a result of globalization. We haven't been "#1" in a lot of things for a very long time (education, health care quality, economic growth, etc.)...BUT, we will ALWAYS be held up as the hope of the world for our convictions and our Constitution.
IMO, I think the shine was tarnished from the Bush administration's trashing of our ethics (Justice department scandals, tourture, lying about WMDs, Valerie Plame), but I think that the next President has the opportunity to change that.
One thing Obama has said, is that when he lived in other countries, he really understood how special America was, and how our presence in the world gives hope to others. I don't think that will change.
13I REALLY see the energy revolution as an opportunity to reclaim our power status. If we can invest in that industry, I think their could be a New American Revolution.
(Adding to my earlier post, I believe Mr. Z said the only thing that America is #1 in is military...which is why we tend to try and find a military solution to problems.)
14yup
15As long as the Visigoths don't invade us while we're in our declining years.
16Good point on energy. As a super power we have a responsibility to lead the way on energy, anyways.
17Our country is being destroyed from the inside. It is damn depressing.
18I do agree with that, GS.
I also think that is a great point about the energy revolution, Jill.
19I think we need to worry less about our superpower status and more about the realities of the challenges we're facing. If there really is any loss in our superpower status, overcoming the problems we have now and adapting to the changes in the world order will surely win it back, and perhaps on better footing than before.
20Is this a race? I agree completely with Jude C, I don't think the US should judge their power relative to that of the other countries, but should worry more about how well it is providing for its citizens by having a strong economy and good security.
21We will always have periodic challenges. This is one of those times. It doesn't mean we're down for the count; historically, we've always risen to challenges with aplomb. (I'm not as confident in our current generation, though.)
So who else is as much of a world leader or influencer as the US? China? Russia? The UK? All have major problems of their own, and are having problems dealing with them.
GS: "Our country is being destroyed from the inside. It is damn depressing."
Absolutely. We're being eaten away by traitors and invaders, and there doesn't seem to be any recognition of what's happening or what the long-term effects may be.
22WHY all this "war-like" talk??? Seriously HOW is the US in the lead and why is it so important for you guys to maintain that illusion?? By what standards are you judging other countries and why can't the US just exist among other strong countries such as India and China and appreciate a more diverse and strong world rather than declare jealousy and hatred among foreigners??? Really, this is stupid
23"I think we need to worry less about our superpower status and more about the realities of the challenges we're facing."
EXACTLY!
JudeC.... I'm obsessed with your comments.
24syako and cabaker, what is wrong about becoming more european?
25When you're American, the idea of the European is scary because it means having to work more communally with your neighbors. Because resources are more scarce, people have to work together more and with less. In America, that idea is terrifying to us. We are bred on the idea that you can have as much as you want whenever you want it and you don't need to share.
That's really not a put down, I actually believe that's an American psychological trait.
26Thanks for explaining raciccarone!
27I don't think we are a superpower and I don't see that we are a leader in anything? Nor do I think there is much to be jealous of. We are a nation of ever growing poverty, we produce nothing, we have abysmal education and health care systems. Out priorities are really screwed up.
28I think if you (universal you) hate our country and aren't willing to do anything but b*tch about it, then leave. See where else you will enjoy living.
29socialism is what is wrong about becoming more european. I don't need others answering for me, thank you very much.
30
31Haha, I didn't think comment #26 would go unanswered.
32I don't understand why you would answer for someone else, Rac.
33I have no propblem with Europe, I just like America more. And as an American who likes America, I'd like it to still BE America and NOT be Europe. If I wanted to live in Europe, I would. But I don't, at least not for my whole life, so thats why I live in America.
34It still has a lot of power, because of its defense. But with the growing economic problems, there might be less funding for that soon.
35We never called ourselves a superpower. Everyone else did and it stuck. As for Europeans working together....NOT. They are splintering over issues and are being eaten from the inside out. Immigration, people's parties, medicine, rising crime & islam. Having been on the other side of the pond every time I come home and customs ask "anything to declare" I always reply "YES, its great to home!" Europe will always look down at us until they screw something up and need us to fix it.
36We call it defense, but it's turning more into offense.
37We've called ourselves a, and often The, Superpower for decades - it's grossly untrue to say otherwise.
38I'm curious, does anyone else see this as another biproduct of globalism. Of course the US is going to shrink while the rest of the world catches up. The US is "outsourcing" jobs and technology in the name of globalizing our economy. If we kept our jobs at home, we would profit, but at the rest of the world's expense. What is more palatable here? IMO, I'd rather be a superpower.
39Superpower was given to US and Russia by the Euro press prior to the cold war.
We've been stuck with it ever since.
Russia no longer holds the title and China will soon.
The only reason we are outsourcing is due to the cheap foreign labor. An engineer in India earns about 25-30% of what an American engineer would. Basic economics - bigger profits for the greedy corporations. How many times have you had to hang up with some customer service because of the accent?
40That is a benefit of globalization. When there was a strong American sentiment within the US, outsourcing for a larger dividend was unthinkable. Now the bottom line is the is the only consideration. We've opened the global market with the humanistic ideal of helping the world "develope", but in the end, it only hurts the only superpower.
41Many credit the coining of Superpower to an American professor in the 1940s. Either way, it's not a term that 'we never called ourselves."
42Thanks for the clarification stephley. I always wondered where the phrase "superpower" came from.
43The benefit of globalization is better communication and a chance to try something we might not have here. To be explorers without leaving home turf. It has nothing to do an ideal to helping others it has to do with exploiting. We put our own people out of work so that someone who is willing to work a lot cheaper does. Not better, just cheaper. It has always been about the bottom line, share holders and the whispered numbers of wall street.
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