How long will the USA stay on top?

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How long will the USA remain number 1?

10 years
4
6%
25 yrs
5
8%
50 yrs
23
37%
100 yrs
16
26%
1000 glorious yrs.....
1
2%
The USA will conquer the World and then the Universe (with McDonalds as our weapon!)!
13
21%
 
Total votes: 62

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BlkbrryTheGreat
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How long will the USA stay on top?

Post by BlkbrryTheGreat »

Ok people, how long do you expect the USA to remain "on top" in terms of economy, military, culture, and personal freedom? Why?
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Post by Howedar »

FOREVAAAAAR!
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

I say 50 before another power reaches the same level, to think the US will be exempt from the laws that governed previous empires is folly.

Nice to see Howedar being optimistic though. :D
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Post by El Moose Monstero »

Economy - I've no idea, I'm no economist, but if Europe keeps growing and gets the whole European constitution thing going, then who knows, it wont be 10 years, probably won't be 25 years, if it happens at all, probably not until at least 50 years... but that's my opinion and I have nothing to back that up with...

Military - dont know - the EU doesnt seem to fussed on defense, but I don't think America will always be the worlds biggest superpower.

Culture - depends on your definition of culture - certainly, America represents a powerful way of life which is mirrored in many countries, but that doesnt make American culture top of the tree, if Europe get a united thing going, then it would represent one of the largest unities of seperate cultures ever, barring the UN. The American culture in terms of movies and such like is invasive, and does spread across the world, but I wouldnt say that America was the leading culture in the world, because I dont feel that culture is ratable in that manner.

Personal Freedom - again, it depends on your point of view, I wouldnt place the US at the top of the tree, but how do you rate personal freedom in countries such as the UK, France and the US? I happen to think that all of these places are free countries, although every now and then things happen which make you wonder...
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Post by Montcalm »

I think i`m pessimistic,i give them ten years before all hell break loose.
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Post by Howedar »

Its gotta hurt, taking a dump that big.
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Post by Alyrium Denryle »

I will estemate 25 years before the EU uses its trading muscle to SMITE the US. (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA :D :D :D :D :D
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Post by BlkbrryTheGreat »

Alyrium Denryle wrote:I will estemate 25 years before the EU uses its trading muscle to SMITE the US.
Nevermind that whole "population expected to decline by 80 million (1/3rd total current pop) due to low birthrate" thing, eh?
Devolution is quite as natural as evolution, and may be just as pleasing, or even a good deal more pleasing, to God. If the average man is made in God's image, then a man such as Beethoven or Aristotle is plainly superior to God, and so God may be jealous of him, and eager to see his superiority perish with his bodily frame.

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Post by Colonel Olrik »

BlkbrryTheGreat wrote:
Alyrium Denryle wrote:I will estemate 25 years before the EU uses its trading muscle to SMITE the US.
Nevermind that whole "population expected to decline by 80 million (1/3rd total current pop) due to low birthrate" thing, eh?
Nevermind that next year we'll be 500 million, about the double of the U.S, and we have more than enough people trying to get here from the east, south and west.
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Post by Sea Skimmer »

Impossible to tell. A lot is dependent on how well the EU can get around the rapidly declining populations of its largest nations.
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Post by Sea Skimmer »

Colonel Olrik wrote: Nevermind that next year we'll be 500 million, about the double of the U.S, and we have more than enough people trying to get here from the east, south and west.
And the countries there trying to reach don't want them.
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Post by Colonel Olrik »

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Colonel Olrik wrote: Nevermind that next year we'll be 500 million, about the double of the U.S, and we have more than enough people trying to get here from the east, south and west.
And the countries there trying to reach don't want them.
We don't want too many of them, obviously. Too many emigrants at the same time is not affordable. The E.U population is currently growing in size, because of them. Portugal, for example, has crossed for the first time the 10 million barrier last year, despite our stagnate birthrate.
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Post by Sir Sirius »

Economy - Short of E.U. being considered to be a 'single economy' there isn't much to the supremacy of the U.S. in this area. Well, some speak of China and India, but they still have a long way to go. Say 25 years as a low end estimate.

Military - A long time, E.U. nations arent as interrested in being military superpowers as the U.S. and will most likely never compete with the U.S. in this field and China still has a long way to go before it can challenge the U.S. Say 50 years as low end estimate.

Culture - I wouldn't measure culture in this way at all. No comment.

Personal Freedom - What exactly do you mean by 'Personal Freedom'? If it is synonymous with 'Civil Rights', the U.S. never was the leader in this field.
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Post by Joe »

Alyrium Denryle wrote:I will estemate 25 years before the EU uses its trading muscle to SMITE the US. (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA :D :D :D :D :D
I don't know if you're serious or not, but this is a wank fantasy. It assumes that there will be some concentrated effort by the EU government to force investors to pull out of the U.S., which there won't be, since the EU and the U.S. still are quite entangled economically. Then there's the fact that the EU and it's member nations are probably always going to be placing a heavier regulatory and tax burden on business, which will slow the growth of its economy.

Of course the U.S. will fall behind inevitably, thanks to Socialism Security and Medicare (taxes are going to have to be raised through the roof to pay for this shit, among other things).
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Post by Col. Crackpot »

i can forsee an EU civil war that will make the US civil war look like a basket weaving contest.
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Post by Montcalm »

Col. Crackpot wrote:i can forsee an EU civil war that will make the US civil war look like a basket weaving contest.
What will be the reason of this civil war?
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Post by willburns84 »

Absolutely no way to tell. Far too many things can happen in one or even two years, much less ten to twenty five to fifty years - from political developments, technological advances. Especially the latter... Could anyone twenty five years ago have truly anticipated the tech advances that we have today?

As for American "culture"... Uhhh, well, I'm an admitted America-firster, but. Gotta agree with a previous post with "no comment."
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Post by Stormbringer »

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Post by SirNitram »

Montcalm wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:i can forsee an EU civil war that will make the US civil war look like a basket weaving contest.
What will be the reason of this civil war?
You say this like any country has needed a real reason to have a civil war..
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Post by Pablo Sanchez »

Durran Korr wrote:Of course the U.S. will fall behind inevitably, thanks to Socialism Security and Medicare (taxes are going to have to be raised through the roof to pay for this shit, among other things).
I take it that you're unfamiliar with the state of similar programs in Europe. The whole machine of government is farther to the left than in the United States, and the social programs match that trend. They have the 'advantage,' though, of a declining population. Where US costs will rise in that sector, EU costs will fall.

The nation to watch in the near future will be Russia. If they can get a handle on themselves, that is. In the more distant future... China. India suffers under the same explosive population growth that could have affected China, and it has a government without the necessary bloody-mindedness and total authority to counteract that problem.
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Post by Sea Skimmer »

Pablo Sanchez wrote:
I take it that you're unfamiliar with the state of similar programs in Europe. The whole machine of government is farther to the left than in the United States, and the social programs match that trend. They have the 'advantage,' though, of a declining population. Where US costs will rise in that sector, EU costs will fall.
The problem is the population is ageing, so there going to have a long period in which things will be very bad while they wait for all the elderly to die off.
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Post by Stravo »

When the Martian colonies declare independence from the Fatherland and defeat trained American marines through guerilla warfare and go on to found the starsystem super power while the US slowly dwindles in importance while the Martians become a militray and economic superpower.

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Post by RedImperator »

Impossible to predict. There's just too many variables.
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Post by Gandalf »

Col. Crackpot wrote:i can forsee an EU civil war that will make the US civil war look like a basket weaving contest.
Would WW2 be that?
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Post by RedImperator »

Gandalf wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:i can forsee an EU civil war that will make the US civil war look like a basket weaving contest.
Would WW2 be that?
Good point. European civilization has already had two civil wars.
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