How can 2 countries (UK,US)with 200+yrs of world leadership be so hideously incompetent today?

[bobbieinok]

Complacent??

Self-satisfied??

Most citizens not paying attention??

Leaders corrupted by $$$ from international corporations whose only loyalty is to their profits??

Populations so easily duped!!

[pwb]

1. Rupert Murdoch.

.

[RockRaven]

8. I was going to say the same. nt

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Maybe they were both just as incompetent before

But it didn't matter because of their power. I suspect that's usually the case with superpowers.

[dlk]

3. Not Enough Women in Positions of Actual Power

[Eko]

4. The real problem is that neither have ever been competent.

[LonePirate]

5. It's a combination of all of those.

Those on the left and well-intentioned citizens thought everything was OK or at least manageable/tolerable for most of the decade. They dismissed or were unaware of the constant threats from the other side, namely the aristocrats who would do anything necessary to maintain their status, wealth and position. Coincidentally, those aristocrats scored massive victories almost simultaneously in both countries.

[Yavin4]

6. Both nations have lost their integrity to wealth

Wealth, and the acquisition of it, matters more than being a nation.

[hedda_foil]

7. You've out your finger on it.

[Yavin4]

10. Podcaster Dana Gould refers to the US as an economy with a military instead of a nation. n/t

[guillaumeb]

9. A corrupt, sociopathic form of conservative philosophy.

My brief summary.

[democratisphere]

11. Nations rise and fall throughout all of history.

The UK and US are currently in decline with further decline likely. Russia, drumpf et al, the fox propaganda network, fakebook, twitter-sh'tter, psychotic brainwashed citizens, wall street and the wealthiest are largely responsible for our nations decline which started in the 1970's.

[GulfCoast66]

12. Both nations are ingrained with an assumed belief that their nation is a white nation.

Both see that changing and we are witnessing the blowback.

[brush]

13. Putin and his bots gave us trump and the Brits Brexit.

I don't know what will happen in the UK but we have a good chance of getting rid of trump.

[lindysalsagal]

14. Human nature. We're efficient when we have to be. Otherwise, we're selfish and lazy.

Civilizations rise and fall. In the end, I'm sorta glad I'll only be here 80 years.

[Codeine]

15. History is cyclical.

Nation-states find their power ebbs and flows, their influence washes in and out like the tide, and eventually they may find themselves flickering out entirely, a spent candle sputtering into smoke. Such is the human condition on a historical scale.