Lurker
01-20-2012, 08:36 PM
The 20th century has been described as "The American Century", due to the influence the US had on the world and the place of prominence it got. The US became the world's biggest economy sometime in World War I and hasn't lost the post ever since. The US is also described as the only superpower on the world. So, when do you think was the apex of American power or when do you think it'll be?
1945-1950: Just after world war 2: The USA had the only really good industrial park left in the world, with Europe in ruins. This is the time the USA built many institutions to control the western bloc, like the Bretton Woods deal, the IMF, the Marshall plan, NATO, etc.
1951 - 1959 : The golden years: After two decades of severe abnormality (the great depression years in the 30s and world war 2 in the 40s), America had a decade of overnormality. Family values were put in first place, as was anticommunism (mccarthyism and red scare) and white male racial superiority. Women were sent back to the kitchen after having to work while the men were off to war.
1991-1999: Post Cold War with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the US becomes the sole superpower and has its ideology of free market and democracy expand in almost everywhere in the world. This is the time when internet was spreading, as well as personal computers. This is the time, according to the IMF, when the US GDP has the highest share in world gdp in their data (that starts in 1980), peaking at 25% in 1999, just before the dotcom bubble. Also, terrorism and the muslim threat seemed distant, since 09/11 (the equivalent to the Roman "Barbarian invasions" according to a french intelectual) would happen only in 2001.
first half of 2007: Just before the Great Recession: the Great Recession has changed a lot of things, and one of it is the rate of growth of developing countries vis a vis developed countries. Before that, it was usually the developing countries that had severe crisis, with the US normally having only mild crisis that lasted for a few quarters. Some say the Great Recession was the time when the US started losing its power, so just before it makes sense as the apex too.
Answer the poll and comment!
1945-1950: Just after world war 2: The USA had the only really good industrial park left in the world, with Europe in ruins. This is the time the USA built many institutions to control the western bloc, like the Bretton Woods deal, the IMF, the Marshall plan, NATO, etc.
1951 - 1959 : The golden years: After two decades of severe abnormality (the great depression years in the 30s and world war 2 in the 40s), America had a decade of overnormality. Family values were put in first place, as was anticommunism (mccarthyism and red scare) and white male racial superiority. Women were sent back to the kitchen after having to work while the men were off to war.
1991-1999: Post Cold War with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the US becomes the sole superpower and has its ideology of free market and democracy expand in almost everywhere in the world. This is the time when internet was spreading, as well as personal computers. This is the time, according to the IMF, when the US GDP has the highest share in world gdp in their data (that starts in 1980), peaking at 25% in 1999, just before the dotcom bubble. Also, terrorism and the muslim threat seemed distant, since 09/11 (the equivalent to the Roman "Barbarian invasions" according to a french intelectual) would happen only in 2001.
first half of 2007: Just before the Great Recession: the Great Recession has changed a lot of things, and one of it is the rate of growth of developing countries vis a vis developed countries. Before that, it was usually the developing countries that had severe crisis, with the US normally having only mild crisis that lasted for a few quarters. Some say the Great Recession was the time when the US started losing its power, so just before it makes sense as the apex too.
Answer the poll and comment!