American Decline

The Carnival of Catastrophism and Its Critics

Robert Teitelman | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: World War II, American Future, Future America, Climate Change, Declinism, American Decline, Politics News
Robert Teitelman

Declinism and catastrophe are in the air, like this early spring's hay fever. We live in a complex, dangerous world. We also live in a time of bounty and relative peace. The real sin here on both sides of this debate is exaggeration, reductionism and the urge to politicize.

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Humor: There's Funny -- and There's Symptom of Decline

Carla Seaquist | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Stephen Colbert, Charlie Chaplin, Jon Stewart, Humor, Martin McDonagh, Major Barbara, Heartbreak House, George Bernard Shaw, American Decline, Humor and Satire, Violence Humor, Comedy, Culture News
Carla Seaquist

Any culture that can laugh at torture and murder is a culture in deep, deep trouble.

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The Imperial Way

Noam Chomsky | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Noam Chomsky, Noam Chomsky American Decline, American Decline, U.S. Manufacturing, U.S. Decline, American Economy, Obama Iran, U.S. Iran Israel, Iran Nuclear Program, Iran Israel, Politics News
Noam Chomsky

Why exactly is Iran regarded as such a colossal threat? The question is rarely discussed, but it is not hard to find a serious answer -- though not, as usual, in the fevered pronouncements.

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"Losing" the World

Noam Chomsky | Posted 04.15.2012

Read More: America Decline, American Decline, Noam Chomsky, Wealth Disparity, Income Gap, U.S. Manufacturing, Wealth Gap, China America Relations, U.S. China Economy, Politics News
Noam Chomsky

American decline is real, though the apocalyptic vision reflects the familiar ruling class perception that anything short of total control amounts to total disaster.

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America: Let's Re-Invent It

Christopher Holshek | Posted 04.09.2012

Read More: Project on National Security Reform, Mitt Romney, Globalization, Tea Party, National Security, American Decline, Barack Obama, Occupy Wall Street, Politics News
Christopher Holshek

The "rise of the rest," which has been going for more than a half a century, is the product of how successful a job the United States has done as Chairman of the Board of Planetary Management. We are victims of our own success, having globalized everything but ourselves.

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Dispatch From a High-Temperature Republic

Peter Mandel | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Strip Malls, Revolution, Tax Rates, Suburban Blight, Wealth Disparity, Banana Republics, Gun Ownership, Death Penalty, Big Box Stores, National Disunity, Job Training, Occupy Movement, Tea Party Movement, American Decline, Politics News
Peter Mandel

Prices may be low, but the Republic's economy is slow and there are hundreds of thousands who can't keep up. "Jobs exist," insist local experts. "But our workforce isn't trained." In fact, many high school graduates here have a hard time reading and doing basic math.

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Change or Be Changed

Christopher Holshek | Posted 01.23.2012

Read More: Government, Project on National Security Reform, Change, Governance, Smart Congress, National Security, Americans Elect, Crowdsourcing, Thanksgiving, Globalization, Future, National Conversation, American Decline, Impact News
Christopher Holshek

We Americans have a lot to be thankful for. As a land of inordinate opportunities, our success has not been because we're really any better than anyone else -- but we have been luckier.

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Beyond Blaming

Christopher Holshek | Posted 01.02.2012

Read More: Leadership, National Security, Economy, Occupy Wall Street, Blame, Bipartisanship, Future, Partisanship, American Decline, Tea Party, Politics News
Christopher Holshek

In the more than three decades I've been involved in nation-building, civil-military coordination, and just trying to help make peace in broken places...

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Did We Lose the War?

Michael Vlahos | Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: Decade After 9/11 - Viewpoints, Iraq War, Afghanistan, Iraq, Decade After 9/11 - National Security, September 11 Anniversary, American Decline, Afghanistan War, Arab Spring, Middle East, World News
Michael Vlahos

We will learn nothing and gain nothing from ten years of tragedy, waste, and ruin unless we face up to the fact that we have lost the wars we initiated after the attacks of September 11th, 2001.

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Critics and Other Cultural Gatekeepers: Mind the Gate!

Carla Seaquist | Posted 10.26.2011

Read More: New York Times Book Review, The Decline of American Civilization, Books, New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, Book Reviews, New York Times, New Books, American Culture, Critics, Nicholson Baker, American Decline, Culture, Books News
Carla Seaquist

Where is the recognition that a "book of raunch," rather than reflecting a mature and vibrant culture, is symptomatic of one in steep, full-on decline, drunk on its power and narcissism (including Baker's pet vice, sexual titillation)?

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Self-Criticism: A New Habit of Mind

Carla Seaquist | Posted 09.25.2011

Read More: Self-Criticism, Birthers, Debt Ceiling Talks, Obama Birthers, Federal Deficit, Debt Ceiling, Federal Debt, Political Philosophy, Political Polarization, Sarajevo, Polarization, American Decline, Politics News
Carla Seaquist

Once again we do the rigid Kabuki dance, leading once again to political stalemate -- this time over raising the federal debt ceiling. Even with the ...

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America Is in Decline, the System is Corrupt, Talk is Cheap, and We Need Real Leaders

Dolan Knapp | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Need for Political Change, Politics, Political Corruption, American Political Change, American Decline, Solutions to the American Political System, Politics News
Dolan Knapp

This large middle class is starting to shrink as more people are being pushed into the lower class. The system, as a result, is unsustainable in insuring the American philosophy: that hard work pays off.

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Why Is Global Competition Good for Detroit Yet Bad for Nantucket?

Charles Kolb | Posted 07.12.2011

Read More: Detroit, Adam Smith, Manufacturing, Council on Foreign Relations, Joseph Schumpeter, Trade Adjustment Assistance, American Decline, Business News
Charles Kolb

Why do so many CEOs want to escape to a place so different from where they work? There is a certain irony, perhaps even hypocrisy, in these disparities.

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Fall of Spider-Man Director Is Not "Stuff of Greek Drama"

Carla Seaquist | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, Spider-Man Broadway, Decline, Spider-Man Musical, Spiderman, Ancient Greeks, The Decline of American Civilization, Narcissus, Greek Tragedy, Greek Mythology, Nemesis, Spider-Man, Narcissism, Julie Taymor, Julie-Taymor-Spider-Man, American Decline, Arts News
Carla Seaquist

Everyone connected with this over-hyped, accident-riddled mega-production -- at $65 million, Broadway's most expensive -- needs to take a long, deep breath and, at long last, get a reality check.

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JFK and the Art of National Security

Christopher Holshek | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: John F. Kennedy, Art, National Security, American Decline, Project on National Security Reform, JFK Assassination, Jfk, Politics News
Christopher Holshek

As Kennedy realized, we would be wise to strike a more conscientious balance between builders and artists -- both of which we will need to secure our place in a safe and prosperous world for generations to come.

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The Obama-Hu Jintao Summit Meeting This Week

Joseph Nye | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama, China, Hu Jintao, American Decline, US China Relations, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obama Hu Jintao, US China, China Economy, World News
Joseph Nye

Many Chinese believe that China should be less deferential to the U.S. because they think the U.S. is in decline. But this view is mistaken and China is unlikely to equal American economic, military or soft power for decades to come. Nonetheless, overconfidence has led to more assertive Chinese behavior in the last two years that alienated the Obama administration -- and this is the backdrop for this week's Washington summit. Since both countries have more to gain from cooperation than conflict, we must hope that Hu's state visit goes well.

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China and the US

Joseph Nye | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gdp, China, American Decline, Politics News
Joseph Nye

Even if China's GDP passes that of the United States around 2030, the two economies will be equivalent in size but not in composition. In per capita income, China will not pass the US until decades later.

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American Malaise

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Debt, America, American Decline, Politics News
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Previous American crises always had an identifiable, external cause that could be remedied, however painfully. But this time there is no external cause. The enemy is us. Americans are suffering from corrupt values.

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A New Year's Resolution for the Rich

Sam Harris | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taxes, Philanthropy, Poverty, Wealth, Giving, US Poverty, Recession, Wealth Inequality, Obama Bush Tax Cuts, Estate Tax, American Decline, Sam Harris, New Year's Resolution, Politics News
Sam Harris

American opposition to the "redistribution of wealth" has achieved the luster of a religious creed. And, as with all religions, one finds the faithful witlessly espousing doctrines that harm almost everyone.

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The Decline and Fall of the American Empire: Four Scenarios for the End of the American Century by 2025

Alfred W. McCoy | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Decline of u.s., 21st Century, America, Cyberwarfare, War in Iraq, American Decline, u.s. Wars, U.S. Economy, American Dominance, Politics News
Alfred W. McCoy

Instead of the bloodshed that marked the end of so many past empires, this 21st-century imperial collapse could come relatively quietly through the invisible tendrils of economic collapse or cyberwarfare.

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Buck Up, America! Your Best Days Are Still Ahead

Frankie Sturm | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: 4th of July, Afghanistan, US Military Spending, Foreign Policy, World Economy, National Debt, Military, National Security, US Politics, Liberalism, Military Spending, US Debt, Truman National Security Project, Foreign Affairs, Truman Project, American Decline, Politics News
Frankie Sturm

America remains the strongest and most influential country in the world. However, according to a recent poll, 58 percent of Americans don't believe it. Who could blame them?

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Health: American Return on Investment

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Big Pharma, Investments, Pharmaceutical Industry, Socialism, America, France, American Decline, Health, Politics News
Howard Steven Friedman

Al only gave me a day before he called back. "So what's the scoop on health care? Are Americans the best or the worst off? All this noise about the n...

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Excerpts from conversations with my stockbroker, Al A Definite Short

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics, United States, Health Care, American Decline, Economy, Socialism, America, Investment, Politics News
Howard Steven Friedman

Al recently called me up with an original pitch.

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9 Signs Of America In Decline: Bad News For Jobs, Education, Happiness

U.S. News & World Report | Rick Newman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Australia, U.S. Unemployment Rate, International Monetary Fund, United States Decline, Prosperity Index, Legatum Institute, Math and Science Literacy, China, Brazil, Global Competitiveness Report, Human Development Index, India, U.S. Poverty Rate, GfK Roper Survey, American Decline, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Business News

The sky isn't falling, exactly. America isn't on a fast track to irrelevance. Even in a state of total neglect, we could probably shamble along as a d...

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Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Vision, in Need of Corrective Lenses

Frankie Sturm | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: American-Decline, Economics, Foreign Affairs, President Obama, Mitt Romney, Neoconservatism, Obama Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, Gdp, National Security, Neocons, National Intelligence Council, President Obama Administration, Neoconservatives, Neo-Conservatives, American Decline, Politics News
Frankie Sturm

The fact that economies in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere have grown since 1945 is not a sign of American decline. It's a testament to US leadership.

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