this post was submitted on 11 May 2024
51 points (98.1% liked)

askchapo

22717 readers
1 users here now

Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.

Rules:

  1. Posts must ask a question.

  2. If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.

  3. Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.

  4. Try !feedback@hexbear.net if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

It's very obvious that amerikkka is circling the drain now, but clearly this didn't just happen in a vacuum. It must've started crumbling at some point... but when?

Some people might say it started after 9/11, others might say it goes back to the Raegan administration. A few might even say it started after losing the Vietnam War, or when they went off the gold standard. Or maybe even earlier...

What do you think? three-heads-thinking

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Wheaties@hexbear.net 38 points 1 year ago (10 children)

I'm gonna answer the opposite of this question, cus there's already some good answers here already; "When does decline stop, when does the structure die and some new historical arrangement emerge?"

The answer is, it might not. Look at our preceding hegemon, the British Empire. They still have that monarchy! And the same parliamentary government, with a special extra house just for nobility. The off-shoring of production, a steadily declining living standards, and a growing irrelevancy on the world stage may be the most clear markers of a chapter titled The End of Empire in a history book... but, without actual effort and organizing, all the organs and chambers of empire just... keep existing. They have momentum, but only just -- everyone involved thinks it's easier to keep it up than start over, so it limps along. It's weird as fuck and mildly horrifying.

[–] iByteABit@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm just guessing, but I think it will get balkanized at some point and some them will turn to a progressive direction, maybe even socialist if the conditions allow it. It's too big a country for it to stay like that after collapsing in its imperial position, and it being divided into semi-autonomous states with their own laws makes balkanization all the more easy.

[–] Tunnelvision@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People keep talking about balkanization, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. A Balkanized America is probably one of the most unstable things to happen in human history and I think Russia and China would prevent that from happening one way or another. Breaking America up is essentially just increasing the number of nuclear powers in the world which for obvious reasons would be hella fucked.

[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think they have anywhere close enough military might and political will to keep a balkanizing US together. You could have a repeat of the Eight Nation Alliance where an alliance of multiple nations decide to hold the US together, but that's just balkinzation in another name since those alliance of nations will most likely partition the US into multiple parts with each nation administrating a particular partition. This was what happened to parts of the Ottoman Empire after WWI and Germany after WWII.

[–] Tunnelvision@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

Partitioning would work I think, but the main point is the US breaking up independently is not really on the table for the rest of the world. It’s too unstable for other nations to do nothing. Imagine 4 or 5 new Israel’s all threatening to annihilate not only one another, but also any one of old Americas enemies? It’s not going to happen imho

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)