The empire: United States of America

                                         
            So, is this the beginning of the end of the empire of the 20^th century, the United States of America? Pessimists have been forecasting the decline of America since 18^th century. But this time, it seems like they might be right. Are they?

           

            If you look back in history, once an empire loses its economic sheen, its political clout also shrinks. Either it be the Romans, the Ottomans, or the Great Britain. Their economic debacle was the reason behind their fall from grace. Is America going to be the latest entry in this list?

I highly doubt it.

           

            For one, the recent economic troubles, although severe, are not big enough to bring down the economic behemoth. Secondly, there is no heir apparent for the global leadership position. I know there are some names in the ring, first and foremost being China. Seriously!!

           

            There is no doubt that China has achieved a lot on their economic front. According to one study, since the last 30 years China has brought more then 300million Chinese out of poverty. That is a big achievement for a nation that is still developing. With all the money that China has (because of the favorable trade balances) and with its strong military, China is still lagging behind in political reforms. Now, I know people will say who cares about voting when citizens are rich!, But in the not so distant future a time will come when Chinese will ask for the same ‘rights’ that their counterparts have. It is that moment, I think China will either breakdown or become a true heir apparent to lead the political world. Till then, China will have to be content with their major economic leadership role.

           

            As far as Europe is concerned, the recent debt fears in the EU region is enough reason to discard their candidacy for the leadership role.

           

           There are some observers who think that the unipolar world lead by US is history and the future belongs to a multi-polar world, where countries like EU, China, India and Russia will play a very significant role. I Agree, but I think that they will still need the US to show them the way.

            Also, the single most important thing that America has is its freedom of thought and expression for its citizens. I think, that alone will keep America as the top nation of the world.  

           Constantinople fell to the Ottomans after two centuries of retreat and decline. It took two world wars, a global depression and the onset of the Cold War to lay the British Empire low. So it's a safe bet that the era of American dominance will not be brought to a close by credit default swaps or mark-to-market accounting!!