A lot of the predictions of the US demise as a superpower are not about US losing more during this crisis then others. They they're about triggering an inevitable shift.
Depending on your assumptions , the US, China, India & Europe get close to par with each-other (in terms of GDP) . sometime before current Grad Students retire. Could be 5 yrs, could be 40. Equally importantly, a lot of mid sized economies close the gap between them & the whales.
The assumption that economy size translates into military & political power makes sense. By that measure, the US already feels bigger then it should. The EU is a terrible mechanism for validating that assumption. China for all it's faults is not very assertive on the world stage. Neither is India. (Russia is similar to the US in this sense. Their assertiveness means they feel bigger then their GDP should allow)
The current non-US big fish (India, China & Europe) are just not converting GDP to militar/politcal power very well. But the raw ingredient is already there. China & India as manufacturers may even be able convert money to power at a better rate then the US
Public opinion in the US & elsewhere is currently that the US backed financial theories are to blame for the situation. The US's military/political methods are even more unpopular. Fair or not, Georgia/Russia isn't getting much worse press the Iraq/US - even in the countries officially aligned with Georgia/US. & Russia's Putin doesn't have a good name.
This sound familiar: you can have us or the russians/chinese. The euros are wimps. You'll take us because the alternatives are worse! You hear it & elsewhere. 30 years ago those held sway. These days less.
> The current non-US big fish (India, China & Europe) are just not converting GDP to militar/politcal power very well.
You could look at this a different way and say that perhaps the US is relatively militaristic. Wouldn't it be better for the world if we could minimise militarism and military spending in general? To me it looks like that is the direction these non-US big fish are trying to move in.
> This sound familiar: you can have us or the russians/chinese. The euros are wimps. You'll take us because the alternatives are worse! You hear it & elsewhere. 30 years ago those held sway. These days less.
Hey - feel free. Don't let us stop you. Don't forget to write. Wear a sweater.
Since you're planning to reap the benefits from that shift, I trust that you're willing to accept the costs. After all, it's going to work out great, so that's no big deal.
Depending on your assumptions , the US, China, India & Europe get close to par with each-other (in terms of GDP) . sometime before current Grad Students retire. Could be 5 yrs, could be 40. Equally importantly, a lot of mid sized economies close the gap between them & the whales.
The assumption that economy size translates into military & political power makes sense. By that measure, the US already feels bigger then it should. The EU is a terrible mechanism for validating that assumption. China for all it's faults is not very assertive on the world stage. Neither is India. (Russia is similar to the US in this sense. Their assertiveness means they feel bigger then their GDP should allow)
The current non-US big fish (India, China & Europe) are just not converting GDP to militar/politcal power very well. But the raw ingredient is already there. China & India as manufacturers may even be able convert money to power at a better rate then the US
Public opinion in the US & elsewhere is currently that the US backed financial theories are to blame for the situation. The US's military/political methods are even more unpopular. Fair or not, Georgia/Russia isn't getting much worse press the Iraq/US - even in the countries officially aligned with Georgia/US. & Russia's Putin doesn't have a good name.
This sound familiar: you can have us or the russians/chinese. The euros are wimps. You'll take us because the alternatives are worse! You hear it & elsewhere. 30 years ago those held sway. These days less.