Entry 2201, on 2022-01-28 at 21:46:56 (Rating 4, Politics)
Mighty civilisations have constantly risen and fallen over the course of history. No matter how great it was at is peak, every empire has fallen eventually, so maybe that is an inevitable consequence of the political structure of large nations or other entities.
Look at the rise and fall of the most famous realms, such as the Roman and British empires, and you might identify some common factors which lead to their demise. I'm not a history expert, but one major factor I have consistently heard about in my casual research is internal disorganisation, corruption, and uncertainty. In other words, the empire fails from within, although external factors are also significant, of course.
Can these observations from the past reveal anything about current empires? Well, first I must establish whether empires still exist or not. I would say there aren't any genuine military empires any longer (because imperialism and colonisation are very much out of fashion at this point in world history), but there are still economic and cultural empires, the most obvious one being the Western World, lead by the US.
I was discussing this with an older, more traditional, person recently who was bemoaning the inferior nature of American culture in comparison with British. I pointed out that the British created their empire through military conquest, where the Americans created one through political, social, and economic means, and that surely that was one way at least that the Americans were superior. The other person wasn't fully convinced, but at least agreed on that point.
America has power in the world because it is very innovative and creates many of the new technologies and products that people want. It also produces cultural material, such as movies and music, which are both more popular and more numerous than most other countries (and yes, I know Bollywood creates more content than Hollywood, but it isn't so successful globally).
I must concede that America also has the strongest military in the world, and that undoubtedly makes a difference. And they use that military to help advance their own best interests, as well as in situations which are claimed to be more based on morality. But even where military power is used, the US doesn't occupy the defeated enemy's territory. Instead, they try to set up a stable government, based on Western values. Of course, that strategy often fails, but at least the motivation behind it is positive.
You might now be wondering where this is all going, although it's probably obvious to many. Where it's going is that I am suggesting we are seeing the beginning of the end for American dominance of the world. This is partly due to external influences, especially the increasing power of China, but I think the underlying cause is the self-destruction of American values and solidarity.
Note that I'm not saying there haven't been huge disagreements from various parts of American society before, just that it is exceptionally bad now. Also note that I don't blame Donald Trump for this; he is the result, not the cause. In fact I believe most of the decline is due to policies from the Democrats rather than the Republicans, not that I have much respect for either.
If there was one underlying belief that has lead to this situation it is the rejection of traditional American values. Now using that phrase sounds kind of lame, but I do believe it represents the relevant ideals quite well.
To further narrow the blame on this, I say it is the celebration of weakness and failure, and the lack of acknowledgment of success as seen through traditional standards. Let me give an example of this problem: Elon Musk is rejected as a greedy parasite, while George Floyd is celebrated as some sort of hero. Of course, not everyone has this attitude, but many on the left, including a lot of senior Democrats, do.
How can a society thrive when the most innovative, brilliant, hard working entrepreneur we have seen for years is treated like an enemy, and a worthless, violent thug is seen as a champion of some sort? That's not to say that Musk is perfect and Floyd was utterly evil - everyone has good and bad personality traits - but it illustrates well how exactly the wrong things are now being celebrated as virtuous.
There are many aspects of this attitude which are evident in American life, and inevitably and unfortunately these are spreading to other Western countries because of the strong influence of American culture. Similar confusion exists in the UK, for example, and to varying a extent in every Western nation.
There is a push in California to eliminate fail grades in testing in schools, there are various pressures to emphasise the cultural aspects of maths (who knows what those might even be) in preference to the technicalities (like how to do math), there is critical race theory (one of the most racist ideologies I have ever heard of), and there is a rejection of the merit in having classes for gifted children, as if having unusual skills in some area is a bad thing.
If these aren't all a recipe for disaster then I don't know what is. It's as if mediocrity, or even inferiority, are now the most valued attributes a person can have. Anyone who has special abilities is seen as having "undeserved privileges", which is generally untrue, and even if it was true, why is that a problem? Would it no be better for society to encourage and make use of those abilities, even if they arose from something undeserved?
This attitude of what I call "mindless mediocrity" is particularly popular on the left of politics, and it's easy to see it in the differences the Republicans and Democrats have on several issues. It's very trendy to support the view of the left on this, and to reject the views of the "fascists" on the right, but I don't agree with that. This is why, despite all his faults, I would rather have Trump than Biden as president of the US.
The left seem determined to destroy all of the good aspects of Western Society, just because not everyone enjoys them fully. To fix that they must destroy everything that is good and this results in no one enjoying the benefits.
When past empires were weakened from within there was always someone else there ready to take over. No doubt China and Russia are watching the Western World destroying itself and enjoying the spectacle. Once America weakens itself sufficiently, China will be ready to step into the gap that has been left behind. Chinese society has many admirable characteristics, but overall I don't think it is what we want as the dominant culture. The Americans, despite their obvious faults, were the best "evil empire" we ever had, and now that is being destroyed.
The future doesn't look good. Maybe the inevitable march of progress, which I have mentioned in several past posts, isn't inevitable after all. Maybe the only thing that is inevitable is failure. I hope I'm wrong.
Comment 1 by Anonymous on 2022-01-29 at 00:14:40:
Relax, you're wrong.
Comment 2 by OJB on 2022-01-29 at 10:11:30:
Well, maybe. I looked up the average age of empires and the "American Empire" is still quite young compared with many others (Roman lasted over 500 years) so maybe it will be around for a bit longer yet. I would still like to hear your justification of why you think I'm wrong, though!
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