Quote:
Originally Posted by WanderingKnight
I'm rather surprised to hear that from you... It almost sounds as if you're advocating having the US policing the world's economy or something like that, (or having any other single, centralized state doing so). The fragmentation of relationships of power is something GOOD in my book. At least we know now that having a centralized point of failure is bound to bring about not-so-good things.
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Of course not. I'm not very fond of USA = world police either, but your statement made it sound too optimistic really. I just don't believe a potential breakdown of US power (okay, it already started, thanks Bush!) will translate to more self-determination among nations, just that regional powers will just fill the vacuum, or try to fill the vacuum, intensifying the conflict and competition between such powers.
Try the Middle East, for example: so the US leadership was an utter, abject, shameful failure. That's clear enough (thanks again Bush!). But what will happen if the US withdraws its influence from the region in a hurry? Will there be peace and cooperation? I seriously doubt it. Iran will want to assert itself as the master of the region; Saudi Arabia will want the same, Holy Wahhabi Islam and all; Egypt may want to go back being Nasserific; Israel will scramble to protect itself from a hostile neighborhood; and Turkey might prefer itself over other, more volatile nations to lead the region...
And the voice for reason won't be heard. Who ever listens to writers and philosophers when the time comes to wage war?
C&C Generals II: Middle Eastern Mess, or that's how I see it anyway. True, superpower bullying isn't fun, but the UN and other similar organizations on the more local scales are not strong enough to assert themselves in its place. I don't really doubt that it's going to happen -- I believe that my generation will see the relative decline of US power worldwide over time, ala the British Empire post-1900,
Pax Americana isn't meant to last -- but while I don't see what we have now as righteous hegemony, I don't think what comes after will be something to look forward to either.
...but that's all off-topic, so I apologize to the thread readers and participators for dragging it out a bit.