[Jeffrey]

With over sixty footnotes, this article is not by a rambling madman. Instead, it's a lucid look at the fact the US is now the American Empire (this is not the author's conclusion; it is mine).

US military operations in all major regions of the World

We're Rome, people. We're Darius' Persia. We're the Athenian Empire. And we know what happened to each of those...

[Epaphras]

Yep, this is very true.

[scarlet.starlet]

I could definitely see the fall of our civilization within my lifetime...is there a way to turn it around? I don't know. Probably not fast enough.

Articles like that make me want to move to England.

[slap_j]

Originally Posted by scarlet.starlet

Articles like that make me want to move to England.

Imperialists emeriti.

[Bryan]

We definitely are good at sticking our nose in other people's business. And you wonder why there are those who want to kill us. Blowback sucks. Neutrality is better.

[Ridley's Own]

Here's what's interesting. I took a world map and I put red dots on all the places mentioned in the article (it's the file marked 'Military Activity'). Then I took those dots and connected them. And guess what you get?

In very rough terms, you get the demarcation line between countries and areas that are connected to the global economy and the global governance system (ie, NATO and the G12 + Europe) and those that are not.

This isn't empire, where a single nation state is exploiting another country for its own economic purposes, and where the rule set is based on what you must do. This is frontier policing. This rule set is things that you cannot do, and there's a big difference.

The list on that website is interesting, but it leaves out some important details. Like the fact that AFRICOM isn't structured or does the same kind of job as the other major commands of the US Armed forces. Its primary duty is to do frontier policing; that is, making sure that the needed development can take place in some level of regional stability and safety. They're protecting the people building bridges and roads and toilets and fresh water. You know, the type of things a society needs to not be in poverty anymore and not have disease.

We get conflict along those borders partially because of blowback from bad ideas in the past (like the Iranian Coup in '58 [iirc]), but mostly because of the resistance from traditional societies towards integration with the globalized world, and particularly with the threat that universal rule sets (we call them human rights) have towards depriving traditional power structures of.. say, power.

We're not Empire. We've never operated that way, and we're not engaging in imperialism now. What we are doing, though, is not seizing an opportunity to shape global governance in a way that actually provides developing countries an opportunity to actually develop.

[Insane Drummer]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

We're Rome, people. We're Darius' Persia. We're the Athenian Empire. And we know what happened to each of those...

Rome had good infrastructure... That's all I am going to say.

[nolidad]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

With over sixty footnotes, this article is not by a rambling madman. Instead, it's a lucid look at the fact the US is now the American Empire (this is not the author's conclusion; it is mine).

US military operations in all major regions of the World

We're Rome, people. We're Darius' Persia. We're the Athenian Empire. And we know what happened to each of those...

Did you just get this revelation? I for one have known this for a long time. We have lived in the Pax Americana just like the western world had lived in the Pax Romana. And as Rome crumbled from within we as a country are doing the same but on a far accelerated speed. We as a antion should pull out of Japan and most of Europe if not all. Iraq should be able to stand on its own, and Afghanistan is an unwinnable war. I personally do not see any hope for America being a economic power even 5 years from now. Teh govt has spent this nation to a place where the debt could not possibly hoped to be repiad through increased taxation without completely collapsing the economy.

The CBO has estimated that if current trends continue servicing the national debt in 2019 will take up over $800 billion! And the CBO has a history of underestimating costs.

[JerryLove]

Originally Posted by nolidad

I personally do not see any hope for America being a economic power even 5 years from now.

Are you willing to bet?

[Chrysostom]

I'll give you 10:1 odds if so.

[Ridley's Own]

Someone needs to define 'economic power' for further discussion. Are we going to be the world's manufacturing base? Nope. Are we, together with the other G20 nations, going to be the world's guarantor of system security? Probably. No reason to think otherwise. Are we going to continue to be the world's breadbasket (our number one industry is agriculture, after all)? Yep. Our role is shifting, but our profile isn't shrinking. There's a difference.

[JerryLove]

Originally Posted by Ridley's Own

Someone needs to define 'economic power' for further discussion.

Good point. I'll go ahead and define it as "one of the 10 largest economies by GDP".

If noli wants a different definition he can offer it. But he won't bet in ernest: because even he doesn't believe him.

[Ridley's Own]

Originally Posted by JerryLove

Good point. I'll go ahead and define it as "one of the 10 largest economies by GDP".

Ah. Then no, I don't think it's likely we'll ever not be in the top 10 largest economies of the world. Our population is just too big for that to be the case.

[nolidad]

Originally Posted by Ridley's Own

Someone needs to define 'economic power' for further discussion. Are we going to be the world's manufacturing base? Nope. Are we, together with the other G20 nations, going to be the world's guarantor of system security? Probably. No reason to think otherwise. Are we going to continue to be the world's breadbasket (our number one industry is agriculture, after all)? Yep. Our role is shifting, but our profile isn't shrinking. There's a difference.

I like what youo are developing here. We becoem the worlds mercenary army and farming class while Chuina and India become the major industrial and intellectual centers. Maybe we can maintain a measure of prosperity after all.

[Insane Drummer]

Originally Posted by nolidad

I like what youo are developing here. We becoem the worlds mercenary army and farming class while Chuina and India become the major industrial and intellectual centers. Maybe we can maintain a measure of prosperity after all.

Farming class?

US food production in relation to food consumption has plummeted consistently in the last 130 years
(Google Image Result for http://www.kitchengardeners.org/pics/homefoodproductionchart102306.jpg)