America's role in the world?

Question

I read an article by the AFP with the headline "China's economy to become world's biggest in 2035: study". It goes on to state that by mid-century, the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the American economy and that "China's financial clout will spill into every conceivable dimension of international relations" according to economist Albert Keidel.

I find these kinds of statements troubling and it makes me concerned that the decline of American influence in the world is irreversible and inevitable.

I think this is a relevant topic especially in 2008 when voters will decide who they want to be and where they want to go as a country by voting for John McCain or Barack Obama.

What do you think of the assertions made in this article and do you think that America can look forward to maintaining a strong standing economically, militarily and diplomatically into the future? I am in high school and I want to make sure my country continues to stand strong.

Answer 1

I think the assertion that China will be the major economic power in the future is correct. On a microeconomic level consider this, where is everything that we own made? in China & that should tell you one thing. As far as America being able to stand economically, how can we stand strong when we are in debt, when we are basically owned by other countries (like China and Saudi Arabia) and when our dollar is falling in value by the injection of more money by the Federal Reserve. We are spending more than we can pay for and neither candidate will be able to resolve the big mess our country is in. The only hopeful is one that is never featured in the mainline media  which is Ron Paul. He has an excellent fiscal policy and seems to have the most integrity out of all the candidates unfortunately he is relatively unknown to most of America.

Answer 2

Most of us would also like our country to stand strong, but it's not gonna happen.  Given our apparent choices for president, 2 Senators who have done nothing but make things worse, want to spend more on somewhat different things, and are avoiding the one real issue of our economic collapse, 2035 is too far away to worry about right now!

Answer 3

Your question is very intriguing, but I think your worries are unfounded. It is inevitable that countries like China, and possibly India later on, will surpass the US economically, and if you count the EU as a single entity they already have! Have you heard the saying "The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th to the United States, and the 21st to India and China"?

Militarily, the US will be on top for a long time to come. We spend more on defense than the rest of the world combined. Technologically, we are so far ahead of the Chinese when it comes to the military.

Culturally, as a soft power, I think the US will still be very influential with our hollywood movies, popular music, and brands that it gives the world.