End of USA as the world's lone superpower?

[Del01]

Hello Friends, this is my debut post at PP.

After Jerusalem debacle and defeat at UN, what you people think?

I have never seen the united States so disrespected and its standing so low.

I don't think its been this low since before WW2.

Is this a start of US decline as world's lone superpower...

 

[sjahmed23]

UN resolution means nothing. Even the countries that voted for it know that, it's just a way to keep balance without hurting the Arabs feelings too much. USA will continue to be a superpower as long as it has the military, technology and economic might which no one in the world can challenge at this moment.

 

[Varun]

UN resolution means nothing. Even the countries that voted for it know that, it's just a way to keep balance without hurting the Arabs feelings too much. USA will continue to be a superpower as long as it has the military, technology and economic might which no one in the world can challenge at this moment.

Agreed, the UN is akin to the ICC - toothless and powerless, with the USA being the BCCI in that context.

 

[Pakistanian]

America will remain a super power for many centuries to come, in fact it may remain a superpower until doomsday.

 

[Yossarian]

America will remain a super power for many centuries to come, in fact it may remain a superpower until doomsday.

You really meant to say doomsday is more likely to come whilst Trump remains in charge of the worlds only superpower.

 

[MenInG]

Trump came up on a ticket of "America first" and that's what he is doing.

 

[Yossarian]

UN resolution means nothing. Even the countries that voted for it know that, it's just a way to keep balance without hurting the Arabs feelings too much. USA will continue to be a superpower as long as it has the military, technology and economic might which no one in the world can challenge at this moment.

The key thing is economic might. Military might is dependant upon that.

The USA might remain economically dominant for a long time yet - but not by as much each day as the day before. Trump being elected with massive support of the working classes (normally Democratic vote banks) in the industrialised states is a direct consequence of that slow decline due to jobs moving abroad due to relative wage costs. And the fact that developing nations, by developing, are not only making their own goods that were previously purchased from US suppliers manufacturing in the USA, but also the fact that these goods are now often competing in international markets with those made in the USA

 

[James]

China is hot on the heels of the US, it will certainly soon leave Russia behind as the dominant Eastern power, and then you will have two global superpowers who are not unlikely to enact a Second Cold War through proxy localised conflicts to decide whether American Capitalism or Chinese Socialism (which is not Communism I might add) will define the era to follow.

 

[Convict]

I wasn't aware that popularity removed military fact.

All those Euros that voted yes in the resolution will return to begging America to stationing troops in Eastern Europe to protect them from Russia and sort out the Ukrainian mess they made.

 

[Saeed]

Not at all but China will eventually catch up. American institutions are extremely strong and one person can not set the country back. All this is temporary and everything will go back to normal when ever each of these countries nead each other.

 

[Markhor]

The limits of US power have become noticeable. They suffered a bloody nose in Iraq and Afghanistan, and were defeated in its objectives in Syria, but it remains by far the most powerful military force in the world.

What should be most worrying for Americans is their broken political system which is an oligarchy in all but name. The Republican Party is the political arm of Wall Street and the military industrial complex whilst "centrist" Democrats are no better. Even before the disasterous ruling that was Citizens United, wealthy donors through a poorly regulated campaign finance system have been able to bankroll elections so to install candidates in Washington that'll serve the interests of big business.

If putting two wars on a credit card and a broken democracy was bad enough, the 2008 financial crash showed the folly of sustained deregulation and allowing Wall Street to accumulate so much political power. Even before 2008, Americans had suffered long-term stagnation in wages and household incomes, which the crash prolonged.

This has in turn led to deep polarisation of American society on class, racial and political lines, with a resurgent far-right now walking the corridors of power. Trump is just a symptom of a political system that was already diseased. Given how poorly the US have handled "sole superpower" status, maybe power shifting East isn't such a bad thing.

 

[Robert]

I would give the American empire another fifty years. Their culture peaked with the Moon landings and has been in slow decline since. By the end of this century China will have replaced it as dominant world power. Maybe India will overtake the USA too.

 

[DW44]

I would give the American empire another fifty years. Their culture peaked with the Moon landings and has been in slow decline since. By the end of this century China will have replaced it as dominant world power. Maybe India will overtake the USA too.

Not happening. India will, eventually, get stuck in a middle income trap at income levels between Thailand's and Indonesia's today. The result would be an economy that would settle down at around 40-60% the size of the US economy. China too could end up in a MIT but if they do, their situation would be comparable to Malaysia's i.e. stuck in a MIT at much higher income levels so the overall economy would still be massive.

 

[Musakhel]

American power is obviously waning you can see by all their sanctions and what not, they could not bring A middle size country like Iran to heel what chance do they have against Russia or China.

 

[Robert]

American power is obviously waning you can see by all their sanctions and what not, they could not bring A middle size country like Iran to heel what chance do they have against Russia or China.

They broke the USSR in the 1980s.

Modern Russia has a lower GDP than the UK.

 

[Varun]

They broke the USSR in the 1980s.

Modern Russia has a lower GDP than the UK.

To stretch your point - Russia has a lower GDP than even a single US state - that of California!

Here's an important reason why Russia's economy is always grim:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v3C_5bsdQWg" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[cricketjoshila]

American power is obviously waning you can see by all their sanctions and what not, they could not bring A middle size country like Iran to heel what chance do they have against Russia or China.

They literally brought Iranian economy to its knees.This despite China,Russia and India continuing to do business with Iran.

US is not alone, it has NATO.

 

[Musakhel]

They literally brought Iranian economy to its knees.This despite China,Russia and India continuing to do business with Iran.

US is not alone, it has NATO.

And has Iranian influence decreased in the region since Iran Iraq war no it has only increased only a few weeks back Iran has established a land route to Lebanon and more importantly Hezbollah.

 

[sjahmed23]

The key thing is economic might. Military might is dependant upon that.

The USA might remain economically dominant for a long time yet - but not by as much each day as the day before. Trump being elected with massive support of the working classes (normally Democratic vote banks) in the industrialised states is a direct consequence of that slow decline due to jobs moving abroad due to relative wage costs. And the fact that developing nations, by developing, are not only making their own goods that were previously purchased from US suppliers manufacturing in the USA, but also the fact that these goods are now often competing in international markets with those made in the USA

I agree the middle class has been hurting in the USA for a long time, due to jobs moving out and automation. But that's really one way of looking at it, United State's backbone is it's technology and innovation prowess. The system which replaces old jobs with new jobs and creates more new jobs for the whole world. That's how the policy makers think, or at least they had been before trump and no country seems to be challenging that.

For all we know US government can be in the pockets of every person in the world since two of the most widely used Operating Systems in the world (Android and iOS) were developed by American companies. That is the power of the US.

 

[Bewal Express]

All empires fall eventually through arrogance, corruption, changes in technology and natural disasters. America sits on the Yellowstone national park and the Eastern seaboard are vulnerable to the Vocanic islands in the Atlantic.

 

[Yossarian]

I agree the middle class has been hurting in the USA for a long time, due to jobs moving out and automation. But that's really one way of looking at it, United State's backbone is it's technology and innovation prowess. The system which replaces old jobs with new jobs and creates more new jobs for the whole world. That's how the policy makers think, or at least they had been before trump and no country seems to be challenging that.

The numbers/levels jobs created by new technologies pales into comparison with the number of jobs being lost due to automation, industries closing and/or relocating their production overseas.

For every factory relocating and making, say, a 100 workers unemployed, many times more are affected in terms of losing jobs or reduced income, whether as direct suppliers to the manufacturing facility being closed, or whether being dependent upon supplying everyday services to the workforce that is being made redundant.

When a large manufacturing facility closes or relocates, whole towns and communities are devastated in a ripple down effect.

Another factor is that whereas as little as 50 years ago, it it wished to do so the USA could simply isolate itself from the rest of the world and still carry on being successful since it had plenty of every kind of conceivable resource needed to be self sustaining.

But now in the interconnected globalised world, the USA is as much dependent upon the rest of the world as the rest of the world is dependent upon the USA.

For all we know US government can be in the pockets of every person in the world since two of the most widely used Operating Systems in the world (Android and iOS) were developed by American companies. That is the power of the US.

No need to just 'know' - it is an actual fact. Big Uncle Sam can shut down any part of the world it wishes to at any time, and not just because of iOS and Android in one's pocket. But doing so means playing it's ace card, which will mean the long term demise of the said ace card as the world wakes up.

 

[cricketjoshila]

And has Iranian influence decreased in the region since Iran Iraq war no it has only increased only a few weeks back Iran has established a land route to Lebanon and more importantly Hezbollah.

Iran sanctions have been eased.

 

[KingKhanWC]

America will remain a super power for many centuries to come, in fact it may remain a superpower until doomsday.

The same was said of the Roman, Persian, British and every other empire.

US is in decline.