The default power

[LegendKiller]

You better check your collection before you talk about sticking to the truth. That picture you just posted here as being Detroit is actually of Makati, Philippines.

ROFL. One of the best pieces of self-ownage I've ever seen.

 

[LegendKiller]

In what way does that matter? Your problems have nothing to do with Military Forces or violent Barbarians.

There's a lot of power that can be projected through those carriers. Keep in mind, this country is still the most rich when it comes to natural resources and space. There has never been a country in the world's history that has what this country has. Applying the rubric of the past is foolish without considering the differences.

 

[Ozoned]

ROFL. One of the best pieces of self-ownage I've ever seen.

Ayup. I hate getting duped. Last time I ever try to defend a left wing talking point about how bad poverty is here.

 

[ProfJohn]

Wow, I didn't know palm trees grew in Detroit!

Cool... I figured it was fake, but couldn't find proof on the net. Must have missed those pesky palm trees

 

[Vic]

Ayup. I hate getting duped. Last time I ever try to defend a left wing talking point about how bad poverty is here.

Since when is poverty in the US solely a left wing talking point?

 

[Vic]

ROFL. One of the best pieces of self-ownage I've ever seen.

You must have missed the OP's other thread today.

 

[Ozoned]

Since when is poverty in the US solely a left wing talking point?

Poverty is not. How bad it is,,,,is.

 

[Dari]

Wow you guys really think you're special don't you? The US has been a dominant power for about half a century, which is a very tiny slice of history, and in the fullness of time will be considered just one of many large empires with ambitions to rule the world. This post is quite ironic actually - when people start writing about how the empire is invincible and could never fall you'll usually find it fall fairly shortly. Read up on the Romans and the British - who incidentally controlled way more of the known world than the US does - for examples of this.

You must be British...hence, you must be jealous.

 

[Vic]

Poverty is not. How bad it is,,,,is.

BS. I can't go a single day without seeing some right wingnut post about how America is declining into some permanent abyss.
And ironically, both righties and lefties agree that the reason for America's decline is because govt doesn't spend enough to stop it. The only place they disagree is that lefties think the govt spending should be social programs, and righties think the govt spending should be for nuking everyone who isn't a natural born American.

BTW, I posted this about a week ago: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=29253411

 

[Jaskalas]

There has never been a country in the world's history that has what this country has.

This country has humans. Who, when given the chance, will pick sides and start eating each other. Is P&N itself not self evident?

 

[Vic]

This country has humans. Who, when given the chance, will pick sides and start eating each other. Is P&N itself not self evident?

That 'picking and eating' is also known as competition. Its seemingly destructive processes establish checks and balances against human irrationality and are necessary for the preservation of freedoms and the creation of wealth and power.

What would be far worse would be if we were all in agreement with each other. Then we'd all march lockstep and doubletime right down the path to destruction.

 

[Moonbeam]

ROFL. One of the best pieces of self-ownage I've ever seen.

You put lime in the coconut and you twist it all up

 

[BrownTown]

If you project out the trend lines it really isn't that much longer until China would overtake the USA in terms of economic output. The problem is that you cannot just assume China can keep growing like this. The social issues will be too large when you have 1 billion Chinese living like its the middle ages next to the much smaller group living the modern life.

 

[LegendKiller]

If you project out the trend lines it really isn't that much longer until China would overtake the USA in terms of economic output. The problem is that you cannot just assume China can keep growing like this. The social issues will be too large when you have 1 billion Chinese living like its the middle ages next to the much smaller group living the modern life.

This is the single biggest problem for both China and India. The wealth disparity is nothing like the world has ever seen at any point in history, except for fuedal times, and that didn't work out very well.

China's only hope is to continue funding the US' consumption to enable a consumerist society through a middle-class build out. However, while the middle class is becoming very large in China, as a % of total population, it is still very small. The poverty class is still far larger. Those villagers can't hope to improve their lives through consumerism.

It's amusing to me how many people say the poor here have it so tough. The most poor person here still usually has the ability to have a cell phone (the governments are giving them out FFS), wear decent clothes, and enjoy a very good public education. The opportunities for them are plethoric and are simply awesome in relative comparison to most other countries.

 

[CanOWorms]

The survival of the US in the future depends on a realignment of alliances for the future. The US cannot be associated with "the West" anymore when the other countries in that category are undeniably declining at incredible rates (culturally, economically, population, militarily, etc.). Alliances with other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, India, etc. need to replace those crusty old relationships with UK, France, Germany, etc. A United States in the future should not feel some obligation to aid an invaded and destroyed European Union.

 

[Cattlegod]

Really???

lmao, i'm from detroit and that skyline is nothing like it. not to mention the palm trees

 

[lsquare]

I first want to say thanks to the OP for posting this article. I'm a big fan of Foreign Affairs and the Economist. I read them whenever I can, but too poor to subscribe to them.

First, I want to say I agree with almost everything the article have mentioned. It's true. Throughout the past 50 years, there have been many naysayers predicting the demise of the US, but as we all know, the US maintained its superpower status during the crises of the past 60 years. The US will remain and continue to be a world power for years to come.

All this talk about China's gain is America's lost is absolutely false. This isn't necessarily a zero-sum game. While I do agree that China will eventually have the world's biggest economy by the middle of this century, it won't be something the Chinese will have for long. Let's not forget that of all the major industralized countries, the US is the only country with a healthy birthrate. Combine that with massive immigration, the US population will probably reach 1 billion by the end of this century. The US will certain be competing with both China and India for economic supremacy long before this century is over.

Make no mistake, Chinese military power is growing with each subsequent year, but it will be checked by US as well as Indian power. India is certainly no friend of China. As long as those two countries have territorial disputes, the US will continue to try its best to engage India in dialogue to surround the PRC. It would be foolish for anyone to assume that China will dominate the world in the near future. They won't as long as they have India and the US suspicious of its intentions.

 

[Zebo]

I completely agree with article despite doom and gloom on main street we will be #1 in almost every category, especially the one that matters, force projection and protection for a very long time. We need some tweaking but nothing like total collapse is even possible with MIC in place. The main problems USA has are going to be dealt with during the Greater Depression coming and we will come out stronger than ever.

 

[werepossum]

Wow, I didn't know palm trees grew in Detroit!

That's a picture of south Detroit, obviously.

Nice article, Dari, thanks. I suppose I agree in principle. We are at the moment probably nearing collapse as our borrowing is too large to sustain. After that collapse - which could well be a soft landing, as the rest of the world still wants to sell us stuff - we'll either slowly sink into true poverty, or else figure out how to maintain a relatively high standard of living without charging it.

 

[lsquare]

The survival of the US in the future depends on a realignment of alliances for the future. The US cannot be associated with "the West" anymore when the other countries in that category are undeniably declining at incredible rates (culturally, economically, population, militarily, etc.). Alliances with other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, India, etc. need to replace those crusty old relationships with UK, France, Germany, etc. A United States in the future should not feel some obligation to aid an invaded and destroyed European Union.

The EU as a whole will still remain a formidable player on the world stage for the next 30-40 years. Brazil and Indonesia aren't developing fast enough to replace the EU as America's major ally in the world. I probably shouldn't even use the reference as EU because clearly there are some countries in the EU that are more pro-US than others.

The EU is a major trading partner with the US so it's very much in the interest of the US to aid the EU in any major war. Should Russia decides to be a spoiler on the world stage and get aggressive, I can't imagine any other major entity in the world that will help the US destroy the Russians than the Europeans.