Is the United States of America declining as a superpower?

Question

Knowing that this question may rise interest, and wrath from "superpatriots" I decided to post it. In my view USA is declining in most areas as a superpower. Yes, is still strong but the challenges this country facing are quite huge. We haven't won wars recently [yes, USA "won" in Grenada and Persian Gulf against Iraq but Grenada is a tiny island, and we are still fighting an unwinnable war in Iraq]. And USA lost in Vietnam. And diplomatically USA doesn't seem to win "friends". And economically we have big deficits, growing drug problem, our educational system is in disarray and our young people seem lacking purpose in life. What do you think?

Answer 1

First a defination from Wikipedia:

"A superpower is a state with the first rank in the international system and has the ability to influence events and project power on a worldwide scale; it is considered a higher level of power than a great power. It was a term first applied in 1943 to the Soviet Union, the United States, and the British Empire. Following World War II, the British Empire was gradually decentralized and dismantled and the Soviet Union and the United States were regarded as the only two superpowers, then engaged in the Cold War."

"Currently, the most common belief among mainstream journalism and in the world of academia holds that only the United States of America fulfills the criteria to be considered a superpower. Sometimes, given the unipolar nature of the world, it is described as a hyperpower."

I think the US is declining as a superpower, not because it is falling as much as the rise of new economies and world markets. The world is changing and so is the make up of the world, thus superpowers are becoming rather obsolete. Technology is partly to blame or give credit to, in that the world has become more connected. Diplomacy is a matter of minutes rather than months.

I believe the US will continue to exert strong influence for a long time yet to come, but obviously other countries have developed new influence on their own. Argentina under Chavez has been influencing most of South America. China has become a stronger force in Asia and the newer EU has become an influence in Europe.

Answer 2

People were saying this in the 1980s. Iran had humiliated the US during the hostage crisis, the Vietnam still loomed large in everyone's memory, Japan seemed to be trouncing the US economically, the Soviet Union was making gains in Central America, Afghanistan and Africa. Since then we have seen the collapse of the USSR, the overwhelming victory in Gulf War 1, the decline of Japan's economic position and the US has enjoyed the longest period of economic growth in history. I am buying into the declining US bit. China is totally dependent on the US as a market. China will not continue to advance unless it becomes a democracy with a free press and reduce corruption. No chance of that happening soon. No other country can come close to matching the US militarily.

Answer 3

please read this
I'm a patriot but I'm not in raged i see an opportunity to educate you and spread my opinion
Ty for the opportunity
I have a lot of points
First, your opinions are very unpatriotic the us can win any war it puts it's mind on, including Iraq (we are winning, less bombings everyday).
Second do you have any faith in your great nation?
Third drug problems have gone on forever and the worst was in the 1920's
Fourth the young peoples problem is the parents, media and society brainwashing them to have no work ethic or Morales
Fifth the US has gone thought this many times and always got out
Sixth what economic defects?
Seventh, if you just give up on the US your will make it become the way you are portraying it and it will fail
Eighth what media is giving you this idea maybe you should rethink where you get your info
Ninth all those wars you mentioned were lost because of the people not the military
Tenth and last point Iraq is now becoming our friend and other nations will soon follow by seeing the prosperity it will gain after it becomes more independ ( they will see that the dictators are the evil ones not the US, the dictators keep them down and brainwashed that we are bad but that will stop when Iraq is free and happy)
if you disagree it's OK it your opinion and it's your right to have an opinion in the US.

Answer 4

I wouldn't say that the US is declining so much as that the EU is ascending. Things are changing, the balance of power is changing.

Economically it wont be long until China pretty much owns the field so to speak.


Also the kind of battles being fought now are not as much political or geographic as they are ideological.
More to the point Islam is plunging the world into the kind of medieval reactionary behaviour that once was limited to the Middle East. now you cant even get on an airplane without being made aware of the international terror and darkness that Islam has caused.

I dont believe that you can fight an ideology with guns. That is why we will never win in Iraq or anywhere else until we realize that.


Things seem to be shaping up for a mega showdown somewhere in the near future, the confusing thing is showdown between who and whom and over what!?

Answer 5

All great countries fall out of power. The United States has been a world power for a long time, and falling would be much more natural than staying forever. You are correct in that the U.S. is losing its position. To make matters worse, Christian fundamentalists are giving up and hoping for god to smite the homosexuals as their cure all. In other words, there is no real attempt made to address the real problems that face the U.S. Notice how you get comments like those from Peter calling you an uneducated non-patriot for not wearing the same blinders as he does and being as optimistic as he is that god will somehow set everything right again.

Answer 6

I think you raise an interesting question but I don't think the examples you use to forward the potential argument are, as a group, strong. To me your question looks like a mid-term take-home essay question for a college student whose professor has marginally covered these topics and is probably stuck in a time warp. The funniest one was about young people lacking purpose in life, which is a complaint that goes all the way back to ancient Greece.

Answer 7

we are still the only superpower and will remain that way if the tree hugging liberals will let us. they are so worried that we might offend someone that they are not capable of standing up to anyone. if this mentality keeps up then you are right and we will soon be nothing. i hope i do not live to see that happen to this great country.

Answer 8

I believe so, and the Bush Administration's war on science isn't making it any better.

Answer 9

Sure is