America will remain the worlds dominant superpower

http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... As you can no doubt see, I have included some relevant music for you to listen to whilst you read. Before I make my concluding statements, I would also like to thank Pro for a fascinating and lively debate, and the debate.org community for pushing this far through the walls of text both me and my opponent have posted. One day, we will wonder how this question could even have been debated. We will wonder how we could have possibly believed that China would stay down for so long. Despite China’s growth. Despite China’s power. Despite China’s ascendancy. Is it ignorance or arrogance which drives us to deny what is obvious? We take the United States, and we wish that its dominance will last forever unchanged. We know this cannot be true. Yet we still wish for it. There is a long line of past superpowers, each of whom thought at their power’s zenith that they were invincible. That they would reign forever. The Roman Empire. Mongolia. Spain. But time marches on, and eventually these superpowers were superseded. And, one day, we will wonder how this question could even have been debated. The U.S. will still be a superpower in forty years time. This is a near-certainty. It will still hold almost total influence over hundreds of millions, if not billions, of lives. But it will not hold as much influence as China. And, someday, China too will be superseded. There will be a new and fast growing superpower which will challenge its dominance, and China will lose. This is the way of the world. Superpowers rise, and superpowers fall. And, one day, we will wonder how this question could even have been debated. How we have debated this question also interests me. We have focused on GDP calculations, as if they were a holy indicator of the true power of a nation’s economy. You, the debate.org community, have read our discussions about whether or not China’s economy will overtake that of the U.S. by 2030 – and it must have crossed your mind too that this is still fully 14 years before the specified cutoff time of the debate. We have even discussed India’s support for Britain in the Second World War, as if this was particularly relevant to the discussion. And, of course, we have talked about which of the two nations has a superior standard of living (hint - it's not China). Which one we would rather live in (hint - same one as before). This is not relevant. For my concluding statement I would like to draw the debate back to its nucleus. The Chinese government controls many of the biggest companies in the world. Four of the world’s ten most profitable companies are owned by the Chinese state – more than the number of top ten companies based in America. Chinese industry, and the Chinese economy, is a powerhouse. But now, I must move briefly to a different topic. I must admit, I was highly conflicted about the inclusion of the three videos you can see above. On the one hand, both I and my opponent had reached a mutual agreement earlier. The terms of this agreement were: Not to present any new arguments. Not to present any new sources. And not to present any new information. So you can imagine my dilemma when compiling my concluding statements. Is not the Sound of Music a compelling argument? Is not the Chinese national anthem a valuable source of information? And is not the hour-long mix of Chinese relaxation music included extremely informative? But, eventually, I reached this conclusion. If Pro can post a nine-minute monologue in the final round, then I’m going to unveil my secret weapon: The Sound of Music. May any deity up there have mercy on my soul. So, in conclusion? China’s economy will grow to be larger than that of the U.S. at least a full fourteen years before the 2054 date specified in the debate. The U.S. and its allies in Europe and the Pacific no longer stand for the same values – and these values are drifting apart. It is a simple fact that things cannot stay the same forever. But now, let us cast our thoughts back forty years. Forty years ago, to 1974 (4610 in the Chinese calendar). The Vietnam War was still in its dying stages. There was no such thing as a unified Germany. The IRA was exacting a terrifying death toll on the British public. Spain was a dictatorship under Francisco Franco. There was no such thing as a home computer. Ethiopia was still ruled by an Emperor And, of course, the Soviet Union, the U.S.A’s greatest rival and threat, still existed. In forty years, so much can change. And, now, let’s see forty years into the future – to 2054 (or 4750 in the Chinese calendar). How much can we really hope to remain the same? Want, regrettably, doesn’t enter into this question. This question isn’t a matter of want – unfortunately. Personally, I’m quite a fan of the Netherlands – but I don’t think that they’ll be a superpower anytime soon. This is a matter of the truth. Will the U.S. still be the world’s dominant superpower in 40 years’ time? One day, we will wonder how this question could have been debated. The answer is no. And this debate isn’t truly about that question. It is about whether or not we need to wait until 2054 to see the errors of today. It is about whether it is possible to predict the truth of the future, despite the pressures which surround us. It is about whether or not we have foresight. Sources used by Pro in this debate: http://dailycapitalist.com...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://online.wsj.com...... http://www.singularity2050.com...... http://defensetech.org...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://www.un.org......; http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://en.wikipedia.org......; http://www.bbc.co.uk......; http://www.friendsoftibet.org......; http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk...... And, of course, the infamous file:///C:/Users/harry/Downloads/HAT_SPECIMEN_TEST_PAPER_2012.pdf (If link fails see Oxford history 2012 past paper) Sources used by Con (me) in this debate: http://www.pewglobal.org...... http://upload.wikimedia.org...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://www.fas.org...... http://pubs.aeaweb.org...... http://www.bbc.co.uk...... http://www.indexmundi.com...... http://www.un.org...... http://eng.mod.gov.cn...... http://www.ft.com...... http://www.cebr.com...... http://thediplomat.com...... http://blogs.piie.com...... http://www.britishempire.co.uk... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://www.foreignassistance.gov...... http://www.treasury.gov...... http://www.tradingeconomics.com...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://en.wikipedia.org...... http://www.eur.army.mil...... I again thank my opponent for this fascinating debate, and the debate.org community for reading it. I hope we will be able to have another such debate in the future. Vote Con. 享受即将到来的未来四十年 投我一票