Is Pax Americana over?

[Anglo-Celtic]

It may or may not be. Just look at the unmitigated disaster in the White House, a husk with no character, competence, or credibility. His breathtaking "strategy" makes world peace much more unlikely. The era indeed will be over if Slow Joe is not removed from the presidency.

[luc2112]

None of that means that the people of the US are "richer," in general, than of any of those, or any other, country. GDP obviously has nothing to do with infrastructure, public transportation or health care, or quality of life.
...and GDP per capita means average, not literally per person. We all know that the US has the most rich people (most of them foreigners).

USA is in paradox. With the Trump government there was a good growth (for the 1st world) of 2.5% in contrast the middle class has been reducing and is currently at 50% (I don't know the parameters, but I suspect it is health care). Your infrastructure is considered good.

Many people live in an illusion, they don't know what 1st world, 2nd world (rarely used) and 3rd, 4th, 5th...world. 2nd world (Max - 45% of the middle class population) 1st world (Max -hit 75% of the middle class population). Most think that Brazil is 3rd world due to the low discipline of the poor Pardos (similar to the Aframs) where knowledge in family planning and domestic economy is zero, increasing income does not solve their problem.

If the country's income increases, the cost of labor also increases. There may not be an increase in the middle class (only some industrialized products are cheaper)

[Westbrook]

Doomerism is so corny and pathetic. Life in most of the world has never been better or more comfortable for the average person, but somehow they've still managed to convince themselves (or be scammed into believing) their lives are terrible and things will only get worse.

Yeah, millions of kids with no hope or who need money for college will certainly help with that. Hopefully they'll never have to pull a trigger. We all know what follows when that happens.

[Übermensch]

Economically. Russia can destroy the world by nukes, of course, but how it would help them?

Well, nominal GPD is irrelavant for military purpose.
Using purcasing GPD russia is the 4th economic power, higher than Germany and Japan.
You should also consider that russian economy is mostly ''hide'', because most of it is not reported.
Oligarchs (which are basically puppet of the russians state) have huge ammount of wealth which is not reported in the GPD, so russian GPD (true) is likelly comparable to USA and China.
Russia has the highest percentage of bilioners in the world!
Russia has the highest ammount of gas and oil in the world, the largest gas exporter, plus Russia has very advanced technology and great military power,just think to the military aircraft Sukhoi-su57 which is even better than F-35 (as it was showed in Siria).
It is very common mistake to understimate russian power.
In addition to this, Russia and China are ally now, China is depending on Russia for technologyn and energy, while Russia needs China for economic improvment and international support.
So Russia and China are very strong now, and USA can't beat them.

[luc2112]

Well, nominal GPD is irrelavant for military purpose.
Using purcasing GPD russia is the 4th economic power, higher than Germany and Japan.
You should also consider that russian economy is mostly ''hide'', because most of it is not reported.
Oligarchs (which are basically puppet of the russians state) have huge ammount of wealth which is not reported in the GPD, so russian GPD (true) is likelly comparable to USA and China.
Russia has the highest percentage of bilioners in the world!
Russia has the highest ammount of gas and oil in the world, the largest gas exporter, plus Russia has very advanced technology and great military power,just think to the military aircraft Sukhoi-su57 which is even better than F-35 (as it was showed in Siria).
It is very common mistake to understimate russian power.
In addition to this, Russia and China are ally now, China is depending on Russia for technologyn and energy, while Russia needs China for economic improvment and international support.
So Russia and China are very strong now, and USA can't beat them.

If you're allied with the Russians, it looks like the only thing they have is military equipment and some trucks. What I have some admiration for the Russians were practical and objective for military and space projects, but it is not an economic superpower...

[Übermensch]

If you're allied with the Russians, it looks like the only thing they have is military equipment and some trucks. What I have some admiration for the Russians were practical and objective for military and space projects, but it is not an economic superpower...

Ok have you heard about gazprom or rosneft?
By the way Russian financed iranian nuclear program.
Did you know americans are totally depending on Russian technology for their space program (ISS it's mostly russian in thecnology,also americans use the russian vector ''sojuz'' instead their own).
American military technology is far less advanced than russian one.
Anyway what do you think economy is about?
Creating useless stuff like movies or videogames or tourism or bulding industry?
True economy is nuclear power, areospace,industry,agriculture,oil,gas,computer science ecc.

[luc2112]

Did you know americans are totally depending on Russian technology for their space program (ISS it's mostly russian in thecnology,also americans use the russian vector ''sojuz'' instead their own).

After the abandonment of Russia, yes the USA (which not is dumb) used their projects without having to steal.

American military technology is far less advanced than russian one.

A few cases in the Soviet era (depends on time of release), but overall USA always surpassed

Anyway what do you think economy is about?
Creating useless stuff like movies or videogames or tourism or bulding industry?
True economy is nuclear power, areospace,industry,agriculture,oil,gas,computer science ecc.

USA: Microsoft, Linux, Apple, Google, General Eletric, Boieng...etc..

[Übermensch]

...

Buran and Shuttle are both useless (even USA abbandoned space shuttle).
A ''few'' cases''?
Russia: first satellite (1957), firs man in space (1961), Firs space station (1986).
The only american surpass was space landing (1969) but everyone knows is fake, Americans are good at bluffing.
You know why USSR collapsed? Reagan announced the so called ''star wars'' program which was impossible, he incrreased a lot state intervervention to fool the soviets.
I'm not denying USA is a superpower, i'm just saying Russia is more or less comparable in thechology if not better in many fields...

[JamesBond007]

It may or may not be. Just look at the unmitigated disaster in the White House, a husk with no character, competence, or credibility. His breathtaking "strategy" makes world peace much more unlikely. The era indeed will be over if Slow Joe is not removed from the presidency.

Both Trump and Biden are buffoons and signs of a dying empire :

America’s defeat in Afghanistan is one in a string of catastrophic military blunders that herald the death of the American empire. With the exception of the first Gulf War, fought largely by mechanized units in the open desert that did not – wisely – attempt to occupy Iraq, the United States political and military leadership has stumbled from one military debacle to another. Korea. Vietnam. Lebanon. Afghanistan. Iraq. Syria. Libya. The trajectory of military fiascos mirrors the sad finales of the Chinese, Ottoman, Hapsburg, Russian, French, British, Dutch, Portuguese and Soviet empires. While each of these empires decayed with their own peculiarities, they all exhibited patterns of dissolution that characterize the American experiment.

Imperial ineptitude is matched by domestic ineptitude. The collapse of good government at home, with legislative, executive and judicial systems all seized by corporate power, ensures that the incompetent and the corrupt, those dedicated not to the national interest but to swelling the profits of the oligarchic elite, lead the country into a cul-de-sac. Rulers and military leaders, driven by venal self-interest, are often buffoonish characters in a grand comic operetta. How else to think of Allen Dulles, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Trump or the hapless Joe Biden? While their intellectual and moral vacuity is often darkly amusing, it is murderous and savage when directed towards their victims

...

https://scheerpost.com/2021/04/19/he...erican-empire/

[Anglo-Celtic]

Both Trump and Biden are buffoons and signs of a dying empire :

America’s defeat in Afghanistan is one in a string of catastrophic military blunders that herald the death of the American empire. With the exception of the first Gulf War, fought largely by mechanized units in the open desert that did not – wisely – attempt to occupy Iraq, the United States political and military leadership has stumbled from one military debacle to another. Korea. Vietnam. Lebanon. Afghanistan. Iraq. Syria. Libya. The trajectory of military fiascos mirrors the sad finales of the Chinese, Ottoman, Hapsburg, Russian, French, British, Dutch, Portuguese and Soviet empires. While each of these empires decayed with their own peculiarities, they all exhibited patterns of dissolution that characterize the American experiment.

Imperial ineptitude is matched by domestic ineptitude. The collapse of good government at home, with legislative, executive and judicial systems all seized by corporate power, ensures that the incompetent and the corrupt, those dedicated not to the national interest but to swelling the profits of the oligarchic elite, lead the country into a cul-de-sac. Rulers and military leaders, driven by venal self-interest, are often buffoonish characters in a grand comic operetta. How else to think of Allen Dulles, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Trump or the hapless Joe Biden? While their intellectual and moral vacuity is often darkly amusing, it is murderous and savage when directed towards their victims

...

https://scheerpost.com/2021/04/19/he...erican-empire/

I agree with most of that. Interventionism often is a military philosophy that comes from an unnamed circle of Dante's Hell. The death and the destruction are incalculable. Of course, neocons will squeal "appeasement", as well as "Chamberlain", if you bring up the obvious.