
Posted by Cockney Robin |
Like Joel Achenbach, I've heard a lot of embittered Americans from both sides of the political spectrum talking about the end of America's global predominance, as if this were a bad thing. All of them convey the impression that they view an America no longer dominant---an America that must share power with other countries, cultures, and economies---as America "declined" and fallen.
Yes, speaking as a Brit, I know that feeling. I just heard Bill Maher, whose show I've much admired, refer to my nation as "second-rate" with a feeling combining indignation, incredulity, sheepishness, and a weary concession that from the viewpoint of an American, this might well appear to be the case. It doesn't appear that way to me, of course, nor to any of my compatriots or com-expatriates. Britannia no longer rules the waves and the British Empire is no more but Britain remains one of the world's great nations simply by being who and what she is (a point on which I am afraid I am not open to debate).
Screw Bill Maher, then (and his personal brand of American 'declinism.') A nation need not be globally dominant to be great.
Perhaps the reality is that the age is coming to an end when one nation can claim to be the predominating voice. The European Union---which Achenbach notes (in a tone suggesting that he believes that this will be news to most Americans) is not a country---is partly the product of Old Europe's recognition that countries which cannot dominate acting alone can have a hell of an impact acting together. But here's what Achenbach says: