There were many other books/articles/documentaries published since.
I think most people don't understand America. So maybe an immigrant like me can help: the United States isn't an enduring superpower because it's an eternal and permanent amazing place free of problems. Its unique power of self-healing and course correction is what makes it great. When everything seems lost, when everybody says "this time is different, it's the big one that will end America", our system finds a way out.
I won't argue whether the current administration and wars are good or bad. I'll just say that we'll overcome, like we always did, our problems.
- America will stop being the superpower, the only one
There was a point after the fall of the Berlin wall and before China joined the WTO (and for an indeterminate number of years after) where America's status as the sole superpower was indisputable.
It will take generations, if it's even possible, for the US to recover its standing in the eyes of the world, and that standing was the core of our power.
"Fixing ourselves" is critical, but just the first step. There's a huge amount of additional work after that.
The same was said about W. Also elected twice.
We then saw 8golden years, before the orange president.
So I would wait a bit before being able to say "good riddance, everything will be ok now, USA is saved"
Ah yes, the golden age of extrajudical assassinations of American citizens, forever wars, the rise of the surveillance state, imprisonment of journalists amd whistle blowers, and the deterioration of race relations. Tell me more of this golden age.
The European empires were commercial ventures, extracting raw materials for the workshops and factories at home. These empires were already weakening in the nineteenth century, because social changes at home meant that practices like slavery were no longer acceptable, thus increasing the cost of administering the colonies, and decreasing profitability. The solution was what we now call the rules-based order, and means that European-style legal systems control business across borders, so armed force need not be used to enforce contracts. It also pooled all the European empires into one system, so everyone could buy resources from anywhere, and the local elites (like my ancestors) who once had to be bought off can become corrupt politicians, so the West can disclaim any responsibility.
The MAGA movement's foreign policy forsakes this extraordinarily convenient system for the older system of explicit, militarily-defended empires. It brings the US into conflict with every power that matters in the world except Russia. The US will have to spend an awful lot on the Department of War to maintain its economic exclusivity arrangements, of the sort it is currently building with Venezuela. Theodore Roosevelt said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick,' but MAGA has chosen to scream into the void about how big its stick is instead.
"The solution was what we now call the rules-based order, and means that European-style legal systems control business across borders, so armed force need not be used to enforce contracts."
I wonder how Europe got there? Maybe they all decided to talk through their problems.
The rules-based order was first proposed in late Victorian Britain, as part of a wider debate as to how the British Empire should evolve, but yes, the World Wars made the idea a lot more attractive to much more of the world.
This article is 56 years late.
"The End of the American Era" was published in 1970:
https://www.amazon.com/End-American-Era-Andrew-Hacker/dp/B00...
There were many other books/articles/documentaries published since.
I think most people don't understand America. So maybe an immigrant like me can help: the United States isn't an enduring superpower because it's an eternal and permanent amazing place free of problems. Its unique power of self-healing and course correction is what makes it great. When everything seems lost, when everybody says "this time is different, it's the big one that will end America", our system finds a way out.
I won't argue whether the current administration and wars are good or bad. I'll just say that we'll overcome, like we always did, our problems.
> the United States isn't an enduring superpower because it's an eternal and permanent amazing place free of problems.
It’s a sad age when I can’t tell if OP is hyperbolic or just actually that retarded.
There are two very different positions:
- America will stop being a superpower
- America will stop being the superpower, the only one
There was a point after the fall of the Berlin wall and before China joined the WTO (and for an indeterminate number of years after) where America's status as the sole superpower was indisputable.
Agreed. We've been in much much worse positions in the past. We will fix ourselves and _hopefully_ learn from our mistakes.
It will take generations, if it's even possible, for the US to recover its standing in the eyes of the world, and that standing was the core of our power.
"Fixing ourselves" is critical, but just the first step. There's a huge amount of additional work after that.
"you aren't going to like what comes after America "
- Leonard Cohen https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-what-is-coming-21603-annota...
You're probably right, but it doesn't have to be. The news today about Canada and the EU is heartening.
It only took twice electing a mendacious and profoundly dangerous buffoon to bring about the end of American hegemony. Good riddance.
The same was said about W. Also elected twice. We then saw 8golden years, before the orange president. So I would wait a bit before being able to say "good riddance, everything will be ok now, USA is saved"
Yeah, wierd how much better W's administration looks when compared to you know who.
Ah yes, the golden age of extrajudical assassinations of American citizens, forever wars, the rise of the surveillance state, imprisonment of journalists amd whistle blowers, and the deterioration of race relations. Tell me more of this golden age.
Eh?
Forever wars, the Patriot Act and a financial crises that took years to recover from under another president?
The European empires were commercial ventures, extracting raw materials for the workshops and factories at home. These empires were already weakening in the nineteenth century, because social changes at home meant that practices like slavery were no longer acceptable, thus increasing the cost of administering the colonies, and decreasing profitability. The solution was what we now call the rules-based order, and means that European-style legal systems control business across borders, so armed force need not be used to enforce contracts. It also pooled all the European empires into one system, so everyone could buy resources from anywhere, and the local elites (like my ancestors) who once had to be bought off can become corrupt politicians, so the West can disclaim any responsibility.
The MAGA movement's foreign policy forsakes this extraordinarily convenient system for the older system of explicit, militarily-defended empires. It brings the US into conflict with every power that matters in the world except Russia. The US will have to spend an awful lot on the Department of War to maintain its economic exclusivity arrangements, of the sort it is currently building with Venezuela. Theodore Roosevelt said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick,' but MAGA has chosen to scream into the void about how big its stick is instead.
"The solution was what we now call the rules-based order, and means that European-style legal systems control business across borders, so armed force need not be used to enforce contracts."
I wonder how Europe got there? Maybe they all decided to talk through their problems.
The rules-based order was first proposed in late Victorian Britain, as part of a wider debate as to how the British Empire should evolve, but yes, the World Wars made the idea a lot more attractive to much more of the world.
The fire of the Empire is beautiful at night.
https://archive.today/4L2NN
What a bunch of nonsense.