naraburns nihil supernum
1yr ago
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Israel-Gaza Megathread #3
This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
Loss of American hegemony would cause a near term recession and probably high inflation for a while, assuming it didn’t just collapse the government into balkanizing. But the USA was the richest country in the world in 1950(in a global duopoly), it was the richest country in the world in 1920, and it had only Britain as a rival for richest country in the world for the 19th century.
The US has been ‘the’ preeminent power since at least 1880. The US overtook the UK in median income by 1894 at the latest. Australia was actually the richest per capita country in the world for a long stretch at the end of the 19th century.
That's overstating the matter; the US gained the ability to enforce the Monroe doctrine sometime in the later 19th century and opened Japan, conquered the Philippines, and participated in the boxer insurrection with enough distinction to get the peace terms it wanted. The US simply wasn't the overarching superpower until 1990 even if it's been a major power since 1870 or so.
if it's an overstatement, it's certainly less of an overstatement than the original comment stating we were the preeminent power. Britain and France were superpowers, we were not. We were economically very powerful and a regional power in the Americas and Pacific islands, yes.
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Notes -
Loss of American hegemony would cause a near term recession and probably high inflation for a while, assuming it didn’t just collapse the government into balkanizing. But the USA was the richest country in the world in 1950(in a global duopoly), it was the richest country in the world in 1920, and it had only Britain as a rival for richest country in the world for the 19th century.
The US has been ‘the’ preeminent power since at least 1880. The US overtook the UK in median income by 1894 at the latest. Australia was actually the richest per capita country in the world for a long stretch at the end of the 19th century.
economically, perhaps. but our armed forces (and hence ability to project power) was comically bad until rearmament in the late 30s
That's overstating the matter; the US gained the ability to enforce the Monroe doctrine sometime in the later 19th century and opened Japan, conquered the Philippines, and participated in the boxer insurrection with enough distinction to get the peace terms it wanted. The US simply wasn't the overarching superpower until 1990 even if it's been a major power since 1870 or so.
if it's an overstatement, it's certainly less of an overstatement than the original comment stating we were the preeminent power. Britain and France were superpowers, we were not. We were economically very powerful and a regional power in the Americas and Pacific islands, yes.
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