...or may be living a very different existence.
A World Without the United States
Who Would Fill the Void?
BY JUSTIN T. PALMAmerica’s influence on all nations has been unprecedented, and its disappearance would cause dramatic changes across the globe.
Imagine a world with no United States. No cheeseburgers. No ice-cream sundaes. No McDonald’s. No Ferris wheels. No iPhones or iPads. No Hollywood, pop music, or blue jeans.
These small contributions are nothing compared to the influence the nation has had on a global scale.
“For almost three centuries, the world has been undergirded by the presence of a large liberal hegemon—first Britain, then the United States,” news commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote in his book The Post-American World. “These two superpowers helped create and maintain an open world economy, protecting trade routes and sea lanes, acting as lenders of last resort, holding the reserve currency, investing abroad, and keeping their own markets open. They also tipped the military balance against the great aggressors of their ages, from Napoleon’s France, to Germany, to the Soviet Union.”
He adds, “…the United States has been the creator and sustainer of the current order of open trade and democratic government—an order that has been benign and beneficial for the vast majority of humankind.”
Expand ImageSource: Thinkstock
While America has been a global leader and sustainer of the free world during the past century, many believe the nation’s role as lone superpower is coming to an end.
Examining current trends reveals a United States in decline. It is experiencing a weakening in its foreign influence, an overextension of its military, and the worst economic downturn in decades, including a sharp devaluation of its currency.
In its place, countries such as China, India and Brazil are emerging, as are Russia, South Africa, and Kenya, among others.
According to Mr. Zakaria, such power shifts are inevitable: “There have been three tectonic power shifts over the last five hundred years…The first was the rise of the Western world, a process that began in the fifteenth century and accelerated dramatically in the late eighteenth century…The second shift, which took place in the closing years of the nineteenth century, was the rise of the United States. Soon after it industrialized, the United States became the most powerful nation since imperial Rome, and the only one that was stronger than any likely combination of other nations. For most of the last century, the United States has dominated global economics, politics, science, and culture. For the last twenty years, that dominance has been unrivaled, a phenomenon unprecedented in modern history.
“We are now living through the third great power shift of the modern era. It could be called ‘the rise of the rest.’ Over the past few decades, countries all over the world have been experiencing rates of economic growth that were once unthinkable.”
Those who want to see America “back on top” believe a world led by the waning superpower will be better off in the long run. They consider representative democracy the best form of government, and capitalism more effective than other economic systems.
This begs the question: what impact has America had on the world—and what effect would its disappearance have on civilization?
A World Without the United States
Who Would Fill the Void?
BY JUSTIN T. PALMAmerica’s influence on all nations has been unprecedented, and its disappearance would cause dramatic changes across the globe.
RCG illustration/Paula C. Rondeau
These small contributions are nothing compared to the influence the nation has had on a global scale.
“For almost three centuries, the world has been undergirded by the presence of a large liberal hegemon—first Britain, then the United States,” news commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote in his book The Post-American World. “These two superpowers helped create and maintain an open world economy, protecting trade routes and sea lanes, acting as lenders of last resort, holding the reserve currency, investing abroad, and keeping their own markets open. They also tipped the military balance against the great aggressors of their ages, from Napoleon’s France, to Germany, to the Soviet Union.”
He adds, “…the United States has been the creator and sustainer of the current order of open trade and democratic government—an order that has been benign and beneficial for the vast majority of humankind.”
While America has been a global leader and sustainer of the free world during the past century, many believe the nation’s role as lone superpower is coming to an end.
Examining current trends reveals a United States in decline. It is experiencing a weakening in its foreign influence, an overextension of its military, and the worst economic downturn in decades, including a sharp devaluation of its currency.
In its place, countries such as China, India and Brazil are emerging, as are Russia, South Africa, and Kenya, among others.
According to Mr. Zakaria, such power shifts are inevitable: “There have been three tectonic power shifts over the last five hundred years…The first was the rise of the Western world, a process that began in the fifteenth century and accelerated dramatically in the late eighteenth century…The second shift, which took place in the closing years of the nineteenth century, was the rise of the United States. Soon after it industrialized, the United States became the most powerful nation since imperial Rome, and the only one that was stronger than any likely combination of other nations. For most of the last century, the United States has dominated global economics, politics, science, and culture. For the last twenty years, that dominance has been unrivaled, a phenomenon unprecedented in modern history.
“We are now living through the third great power shift of the modern era. It could be called ‘the rise of the rest.’ Over the past few decades, countries all over the world have been experiencing rates of economic growth that were once unthinkable.”
Those who want to see America “back on top” believe a world led by the waning superpower will be better off in the long run. They consider representative democracy the best form of government, and capitalism more effective than other economic systems.
This begs the question: what impact has America had on the world—and what effect would its disappearance have on civilization?
