Since few reading this site may have any idea what America was like before it became a superpower (something that we’ve only been since around World War 2) it will be equally disturbing when we wake up one morning to realize we’re not a superpower anymore. The decline of American influence is taken as a given in most foreign press; analysts and the like refer to the economic decline of the United States, our crumbling infrastructure and the imperialist adventurism of the last decade that has essentially bankrupted us in matter of fact tones.
The real question, however, isn’t so much about America’s decline as it is who is going to take over after us? Well lots of people theorize that it will be China and a new chart on Slate.com suggests their rise to power and our decline are strongly linked. I’m not quite ready to start taking Mandarin classes yet, but if these trends hold steady I would suggest that we take next year’s Red Dawn remake a little more seriously.
This article originally appeared at Politic365.com.
