So:
- Is this the end of American hegemony? I think so. I think it has ended and that the effect our proto-recession had on the markets is less a show of our dominance than a show of our importance in an interconnected global economy. Last time this happened, we didn't care what the effect might be overseas.
- Was it inevitable? (read: is it W's fault?) I would love to place this squarely on 43's shoulders, but the truth is the ascent of Europe and Asia was a long time in coming.
- Did W hasten it? Yes. Iraq showed that our military was limited. Moreover, it stretched us monetarily while the rest of the globe found ways to up their growth numbers. Move over American economy. Want to know what happened to the last great empire? Go to London. The prime real estate is no longer owned by the Brits. What is the story in NYC today? Foreign buyers. Here we go.
1 comment:
Oh my sweet country mouse. This is nothing new - c.f. all the stories which railed against the Japanese "takeover" in the 80s.
Yeah, that one.
I wouldn't say that it's the EU's lack of a military which places it at a lesser position to the US: I'd say that it's that the US is a net food exporter, while pretty much everyone else is an importer...
I'm not worried about the business cycle: lean years are part of the deal, after all.
The NYT has a vested interest in both (a) drumming up fear, uncertainty, and doubt, and (b) opposing pretty much anything when Bush is in the white house. I swear, he could have a press conference announcing that the sky is blue, and the NYT would denounce it...
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