There’s been much talk, from generation to generation about the rise of the next global power to supplant America. The Soviet Union (yes, for many, this once seemed certain), Japan, and now China: in each instance, an insistence that America is in decline. (For a post that addresses myths about China, see Overestimating China’s influence: ‘Five myths about China’s power’.)
At the New Republic, Robert Kagan examines and debunks the (persistent) theory of American decline, in a lengthy article entitled, Not Fade Away: The myth of American decline. It’s not that decline is impossible, but that it’s improbable, for the many reasons Kagan offers.
Generations ago, to many, the Great Depression must have seemed not merely a present hardship, but proof of enduring ruin and eclipse. The lingering, near-aftermath of the Great Recession surely seems this way to some, today. Yet, for all our many and serious difficulties, we are a creative, industrious, and productive people.
Kagan’s article is a useful corrective to pessimism.