US hegemony must finally be broken, the American century must come to an end. Not only the two dictators Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping dream of this. Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also declared a multipolar world their stated geopolitical goal, and with them numerous heads of state in Africa, Asia and South America.
Why not? A world in which a large number of states peacefully and on an equal footing discuss how humanity should develop is a more attractive vision of the future than one in which a US-dominated liberal world order imposes its economic order and morality on the others. That is why the Brazilian political scientist also states in “Foreign Affairs”: “A prevailing view is that the distribution of power will give emerging countries more freedom of movement because the power struggle between the great powers will make it more difficult for them to impose their will on the weaker states.”
Not only the military and political power of the US must be broken. The dollar, the symbol of American economic power, will also be cut and lose its function as the world’s only leading currency. Since Russia was banned from Swift, the WhatsApp of international finance, the call for an alternative to the dollar has become even louder.
The timing to knock the US off its pedestal seems well-chosen. A reasonable dialogue between “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) America is no longer possible. The hatred between the two camps runs so deep that there is even talk of a civil war.
The dispute over the debt ceiling currently threatens to plunge the country into a crisis with unpredictable but certainly catastrophic consequences. A dispute that is incomprehensible to all non-Americans, and one that could even form the basis for Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024.
Italy wants to close the Silk Road
It is therefore no wonder that Putin and Xi continue to evoke the inevitable demise of the superpower USA and point to a supposed decadence in the West. However, both gambled away.
In Ukraine, the Russian president is currently experiencing painfully that American weapons are much better than those of Russia.
Meanwhile, his Chinese counterpart Xi has painted himself into a geopolitical angle. By unconditionally supporting his buddy Putin, he alienated his most important client, Europe. Even Italy now wants to get out and out of the new Silk Road under a contract with China – as China’s ambitious “Belt and Road” development program is called. This program is also in serious trouble. Several of the lucky countries in Africa (Kenya, Egypt) and Asia (Sri Lanka, Pakistan) are no longer able to repay the loans extended to them.
In general, China is currently anything but in great shape. In its latest issue, the “Economist” asks the question, “Has China’s power passed its peak?” and writes, “Just a decade ago, forecasters predicted that China’s gross domestic product would surpass US GDP by the middle of the 21st century. They now assume a much less dramatic change and talk about economic equality between the two nations.”
The Economist recently came to the opposite conclusion about the US economy. Concerns about the state of the US are misplaced, concludes the leading business magazine. “America remains the richest, most productive and most innovative economy in the world. It leaves its rivals far behind on an impressive list of criteria.”
To illustrate this with an example, the per capita income of Mississippi, the poorest US state, is higher than that of France.
The thesis of the dollar’s fall is not only old – French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing complained about the “exorbitant privilege” of the US currency as early as the 1970s – it also lacks any factual basis. Neither the euro nor the renminbi will be an alternative to the dollar as the global reserve currency for the foreseeable future, even if this position is repeatedly advocated by charlatans and cryptofreaks. “Ignore the dollar prophets of doom,” says Paul Krugman in the “New York Times,” and he finally won the Nobel Prize for his trade theories.
So almost everything points to the fact that US hegemony will last for a long time – and that’s a good thing. For example, Bradford DeLong argues in his seminal book “Slouching Towards Utopia” that a major reason for the Great Depression was the lack of a superpower. No one was regulating the international monetary system at the time, so there was no coordinated action against the economic downturn, DeLong said.
The Marshall Plan, which brought the world economy back to life after World War II, was only possible because the US now had a firm grip on the reins. DeLong is anything but a right-wing nationalist, he is classified in the left-liberal camp.
A multipolar world means many wars
His opinion is shared by Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth, among others. In the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, the two political scientists from Dartmouth College argue that historically a multipolar world is not desirable at all: “The multipolar world was an ugly world. The great powers were constantly at war with each other – between 1500 and 1945 more than once every ten years. With frightening regularity, the ruling powers are embroiled in terrible, all-consuming conflicts.”
In this sense, it is not a pity that the US has managed to maintain its position as a hegemonic power. And they will. “Even if China and Russia move even closer together, both will remain military regional powers,” said Brooks/Wohlforth. “The alliance of two regional powers does not create a superpower. To achieve that, Russia and China would need to massively expand their military capabilities – and they won’t be able to do that anytime soon.”
American arrogance was rightly criticized after the victory in the Cold War. The financial crisis in particular has meant that the US has now at least partially got off its high horse. Comparing it with the collapse of the Roman Empire is nonsense. For now, Americans can only fail by not actually raising the debt ceiling, throwing the world into chaos.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
