re: When was the United States at its peak - in relation to the world?

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Who's to say the slow play isn't still on from their end?

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Me. Putin told Red Rifle after some pillow talk...RR told me. VERY reliable stuff...

Have you read 'The Accidental Superpower'? We talked about it here a while back...good book

July 4th, 1776



Been all downhill since then

Reagan era.

You missed my whole argument point. We were at the pinnacle of human and industrial technology in the 1940's and 50s, also. Nowadays, the gap is closing and turmoil is rising up on a global scale.

ETA Humans may be taller, heavier and stronger these days due to widespread use of growth hormones, enhancers and technique, but tougher, they are not.

1945 or 1946. This is relative of course.

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You are correct. America is young but our future as a stable, hegemonic global power is uncertain. Our national debt, political division, and stretched military resources while rival powers are on the ascendancy warrants cautious introspection IMO.

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This can be said for virtually all countries. As I said - 2016 the United States controls the worlds oceans, skies and space. And we have the economy to back it up. Yes our fate is in our hands but our hands, while slippery from time to time are the hands of the world for the foreseeable future. We feed them the carrot and we feed them the stick. And we are such a behemoth that we can stumble and not cause much harm.

Syria, ISIS, the Middle East is for the most part just static. Russia's-demographics including aging population and money makes the next 10 years or so for them the only time for movement before they become irrevelant. China will end up with infighting from the mountain peasants to the coastal western leaning business population.



Not China, Russia nor any other country can change that at this time. Saber rattling is just that.

2016

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This can be said for virtually all countries. As I said - 2016 the United States controls the worlds oceans, skies and space. And we have the economy to back it up. Yes our fate is in our hands but our hands, while slippery from time to time are the hands of the world for the foreseeable future. We feed them the carrot and we feed them the stick. And we are such a behemoth that we can stumble and not cause much harm.

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I don't deny America's power by any means. But this could likewise be said about the British Empire prior to 1945. One would think that after 1945 they would have reaped the fruits of victory as well, but they didn't. They had a very rapid collapse.

Like I said before, I have zero concern for America's prosperity as it comes to foreign invaders. My concern stems entirely from civil strife and economic turmoil. Which our entanglement in overseas conflicts certainly serves to aggravate.

This is just my political worldview and I certainly recognize the legitimacy of those with differing views. I personally believe a steady retreat from our global geopolitical interventionism can better serve our long term NATIONAL interests. We were needed to be a global hegemon post-WWII. I don't think it serves our long term interests to try and maintain that role into perpetuity. The problem is, nations are reluctant to give up power voluntarily. It is counterintuitive in many ways. But given that we are a democratic republic, global ambitions fuel our demise IMO.

To put it succinctly, I believe a multipolar world is best. No power can maintain hegemonic rule. It only results in chaos and disaster for that power yet we want to check China and Russia every step of the way as they try and climb into a higher level of geopolitical existence, which of course makes major wars more and more likely.