America in the future

Requiem · 12-09-2007, 11:04 PM

I've lately been thinking of the future of America as a whole. This includes will America be a superpower in the long-term? I find it hard to believe that we will. With the rising national debt and decreased savings of American citizens, not to mention outsourcing to foreign countries, and decreased education scores compared to the rest of the world, and no clearly defined solution to any of these problems so far, what will America be in the next 10,20,50 years?

Any and all opinions are welcome, I'm just wondering what some other intelligent people might think of this issue.

kschmidt91 · 12-10-2007, 01:43 PM

What it boils down to is this: No nation will be an eternal Superpower. Just look at Rome and England. As it is now, it looks as though our country is on the fast track to losing our "superpowers".

AB517 · 12-10-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kschmidt91

What it boils down to is this: No nation will be an eternal Superpower. Just look at Rome and England. As it is now, it looks as though our country is on the fast track to losing our "superpowers".

As long as the ideas that our flag stands for are in power I do not care what country has power. Land of the free and home of the brave, that is the only thing I ask for in a superpower. Don't care much what colors these flys under.

Requiem · 12-10-2007, 05:20 PM

AB that’s a good point, but seeing as the majority of countries don’t hold these values, what is to happen after America no longer has a majority say in world affairs?

kschmidt91 · 12-10-2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB517

As long as the ideas that our flag stands for are in power I do not care what country has power. Land of the free and home of the brave, that is the only thing I ask for in a superpower. Don't care much what colors these flys under.

But our freedoms are slowing dwindling. The Patriot Act is one prime example. But i believe Req was asking if America was losing its superpower status, not the ideals it upholds.

silent_enigma · 12-10-2007, 05:35 PM

In the near future I see a more polarized economy and all the bothersome problems that come along with that.

Requiem · 12-10-2007, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silent_enigma

In the near future I see a more polarized economy and all the bothersome problems that come along with that.

But what specific problems? Less national issues being resolved? Increased hostility between national and local authority/government? I'm wondering people’s opinions on the long-term future of specific problems America might be dealing with, beacause those are the problems that I, and the rest of the country, will be dealing with.

**Skepticologist** · 12-11-2007, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kschmidt91

What it boils down to is this: No nation will be an eternal Superpower. Just look at Rome and England. As it is now, it looks as though our country is on the fast track to losing our "superpowers".

That's a very salient point. How long have any of the empires which seemed destined to dominate the world lasted?

There's no question that America has achieved remarkable successes in terms of wealth and technology, and that it's currently the world's only super power. But, as you point out, this is not the first time in history that a nation has achieved such lofty status.

What has become of former international dynasties will almost certainly happen to America. Our country was founded on the ideals of people who had been oppressed and denied basic human liberties. As a result, our system of government was created with largely altruistic values, as eloquently expressed by Daniel Webster: "The people’s government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people."

But those values have ultimately been supplanted by the decadance and greed which is indemic to human nature. If we could have figured out how to keep our founding values pure and operational, we'd very likely not be worried about losing our predominant position as the world's most successful and powerful nation. But, as demonstrated by history, no natiion has achieved such an ideal.

It's unfortunate, but unfortunately inevitable, that America will cede its predominance to a country or countries, e.g. China and India, which are not so sated by wealth and are consequently hungrier than we are.

Requiem · 12-11-2007, 05:07 AM

I too have to concede that America will lose its status, but how long might this take? I don't think it would be too wild to think that it could happen in the next 15 or 20 years. And furthermore, I just find it flat out wrong and depressing that the American people are not able to pull themselves out this mess and fix it. But life goes on, thanks for the feedback so far, all comments are always still welcome.

Trenody · 12-11-2007, 03:52 PM

Well as things are it looks as though America's dominance will swiftly dwindle. Most of the populace is either too ignorant or too apathetic to do anything about it. Americans are too disengaged from one another to pull us out of this downfall. I would say give us three decades and China will have surpassed us.