The Collapse of US Hegemony is Imminent

Ishamael - I agree with your underlying logic and subsequent conclusion that the United States will inevitably be weakened on the global level which threatens their hegemonic dominance over the rest of the world. This is consistent and characterizes all of history from the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the collapse of the British Empire. Ultimately, I disagree with both your claim that this "collapse" is imminent and your definition of a hegemon (you speak of "hegemons" like the European Union - which in reality comprises a collection of nation states strung together through a series of treaties rather then a single powerful hegemon) and the false dichotomy you have created as a result of this inclusive definition of a hegemon. Let's begin by defining a few important terms: Dictionary.com defines a hegemony as : Leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others. It defines a nation as : A state or a politically organized body of people under a single government Also, for the purposes of this debate I would like to define "imminent" as any time span between 1-10 years. I think this is important when framing this discussion because no one with even a basic grasp of world history could possibly contend that the US Hegemony is somehow infinite. I also find your gauge for assessing a nation's power to be faulty. You point out that the Euro is now worth 1.44$, but is this really reflective of all the characteristics that define a hegemon? I'd like to contend that a far more accurate and telling gauge for such an assumption would be a country's GNP or Gross National Product. The Gross National Product is the total dollar value of all final goods and services produced for consumption in global society during a particular time period. GNP %of global GDP %of world pop. USA$10,533 32.9% 4.65% Japan$4,852 13.4% 2.09% Germany$2,242 6.0% 1.36% Britain$1,544 4.6% 0.99% France$1,543 4.2% 0.97% China$1,329 3.7% 20.84% You also mention China's recent military developments and total population as a threat to the American military's position of power. I just wanted to supply some statistics so that we both have a clearer idea of what you're arguing. In 2006, China's military spending amounted to a staggering 35 billion dollars, but ultimately this is dwarfed by the United States' 571 billion dollar investment. This means that China's recent military spending still only amounts to just over 5% of the American military budget. Not to mention that the United States has spent trillions and trillions since the Cold War and still sits on a nuclear arsenal that could wipe out Earth pretty easily. I double checked these numbers but here are the sources I used: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn... http://www.globalissues.org... I think it's also important to acknowledge that the onset of Globalization and the emergence of an international marketplace plays an enormous role in this debate. People often see outsourcing and globalization as an eroding force to the economy and power of the United States. This is simply not true. When American companies choose to outsource jobs to cheaper workers in third world countries they increase their profit margins dramatically and although this is a sleezy business maneuver that could cause some Americans to lose their jobs, it will undoubtedly result in an increased revenue which more then offsets the national economic ramifications of the Americans who lose their jobs. For your next response I hope we can discuss how you define, "imminent" and what particular events on the international system level you predict will cause such a dramatic American collapse. I'd also like to here whether a hypothetical "North American Union", between the US, Canada, Mexico, and some Central American countries, could constitute a hegemon. If so, would this constitute a preservation of an American hegemon? I think overall your arguments suffers from the assumption that there will be hegemons in the future to replace the United States which I sincerely doubt. We are moving towards a global community where a single hegemonic state cannot cooperatively coexist with the rest of the world. thanks for the debate topic! -connor