Are America's Best Days Behind Us?

[steve2470]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056610,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular

By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, Mar. 03, 2011

I am an American, not by accident of birth but by choice. I voted with my feet and became an American because I love this country and think it is exceptional. But when I look at the world today and the strong winds of technological change and global competition, it makes me nervous. Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that while these forces gather strength, Americans seem unable to grasp the magnitude of the challenges that face us. Despite the hyped talk of China's rise, most Americans operate on the assumption that the U.S. is still No. 1.

But is it? Yes, the U.S. remains the world's largest economy, and we have the largest military by far, the most dynamic technology companies and a highly entrepreneurial climate. But these are snapshots of where we are right now. The decisions that created today's growth — decisions about education, infrastructure and the like — were made decades ago. What we see today is an American economy that has boomed because of policies and developments of the 1950s and '60s: the interstate-highway system, massive funding for science and technology, a public-education system that was the envy of the world and generous immigration policies. Look at some underlying measures today, and you will wonder about the future.

The following rankings come from various lists, but they all tell the same story. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), our 15-year-olds rank 17th in the world in science and 25th in math. We rank 12th among developed countries in college graduation (down from No. 1 for decades). We come in 79th in elementary-school enrollment. Our infrastructure is ranked 23rd in the world, well behind that of every other major advanced economy. American health numbers are stunning for a rich country: based on studies by the OECD and the World Health Organization, we're 27th in life expectancy, 18th in diabetes and first in obesity. Only a few decades ago, the U.S. stood tall in such rankings. No more. There are some areas in which we are still clearly No. 1, but they're not ones we usually brag about. We have the most guns. We have the most crime among rich countries. And, of course, we have by far the largest amount of debt in the world.

The Rise of the Rest

Many of these changes have taken place not because of America's missteps but because other countries are now playing the same game we are — and playing to win. There is a familiar refrain offered when these concerns are raised: "We heard all this in the 1980s. Japan was going to dominate the globe. It didn't happen, and America ended up back on top." It's a fair point as far as it goes. Japan did not manage to become the world's richest country — though for three decades it had the second largest economy and even now has the third largest. It is also a relatively small country. To become the largest economy in the world, it would have to have a per capita GDP twice that of the U.S. China would need to have an average income only one-fourth that of the U.S. to develop an economy that would surpass ours.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Yes Fareed you notice this because like me, you were NOT born here

So it is easier...and yes empire is collapsing. It won't be fun either.

[Amonester]

2. As is, empire is not the only collapsing entity.

The Human Race As A Whole Is.

The Current Extinction Cycle Has Begun.

The Only Question Is (Or Should Be): How Can WE Stop It (And Reverse It) In Time?

[Electric Monk]

3. Another related question: Should we bother saving all these barcodes?

If you don't save your barcodes, how can they save you?

Saviour barcodes.

[Amonester]

4. Could be worth a try.......

(changed my mind)

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Yes the great sixth extinction is well on it's way

but for the first time the dominant species has tools, and is a tool maker. So maybe we will be able to survive.

Hell, as a species we went through an evolutionary bottleneck oh over 200,000 years ago because of that. So no, I would not say humanity is ready to call it curtains JUST YET. In the scope of species, of course we are. 99% of species that have lived on this planet are extinct right now.

[whathehell]

12. Unlike you and Fareed, many of us born here,

have actually LIVED through the "change", not just observed it.

[JVS]

5. A big economy based on low per-capita GDP isn't impressive.

Take India for example. India has the world's 11th largest economy. But the per-capita GDP is $1200. So really the Indian economy is like taking a big bundle of economies that are even poorer than North Korea and presenting it as impressive.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. Collectively? Probably. Regionally? Nope.

It is unfortunate that is seems fast portions of this country are sliding into third world squalor, but the US is still home to the most productive regions the world has ever seen. The denizens of silicon valley or MIT for instance aren't going to sit around a flaming barrel of garbage blaming their plight on gods righteous wrath for gay marriage, Lady Gaga and the existence of the "Fucksaw".

Their going to go back to what they do, call it a bootstraps strawman if you like - but that is where most of the high tech companies came from. Smart people with nothing better to do.

[JDPriestly]

7. It depends. As an American whose family goes back to the Revolutionary

period, as one who descends from men whose names are on some of the very first deeds for land in the Indiana territory, I see a great future for America.

The demonstrations in Wisconsin are the first sign of a reawakening of the American spirit that built barns, harvested wheat, laid rail, fought WWII and created a rich, powerful country.

Americans are individualists. But it wasn't just individualism that made our country great. It was that special American combination of individualism and teamwork, a combination that I have only experienced in the United States. When we Americans solve a problem with the right measure of each, individualism and teamwork, we lead the world. We cannot be beaten.

The protestors in Wisconsin have shown that special mix of individualism and teamwork. And they have given me hope.

Will Walker succeed in passing a bill that deprives government workers of the right to negotiate through their unions? Probably. At least temporarily. But ultimately he will not prevail. He will not kill the unions, not for long. Americans are about to rediscover how strong we are when we work together.

Strong individuals working as a team, respecting each other as equals, just cannot be beat. We saw that in WWI. We saw that in WWII.

The corporations and their super-rich leaders have tried to get Americans to buy into the idea of a class system based on money, power -- "merit" they like to call it. Americans are just beginning to realize that everybody who isn't rich loses out in a such a system.

Our next challenge is to build a new energy economy based on renewable energy. We cannot rely on the conservative corporate plutocracy to meet that challenge. We have to do it as a team. I think we will.

[old mark]

8. My mom's family has been in PA since the late 17th century, my dad is an immigrant

from Germany in 1920. Part of Mom's family are Osage people, and have been here for quite a few years now...

Honestly, I don't know what is happening here now. I believe we are seeing the rule of ignorance and bigotry being cultivated by the extremely rich simply because they want more money and overall political control of the whole country with nothing left for the rest of us. I believe they are using mainly the GOP to do this, but have also co-opted the media, especially TV, to help advance their cause, and to a lesser degree have strongly influenced the Democratic party simply by moving the entire process quite far to the right.
The GOP made this promise in the Nixon era..."This country is going so far to the right, you won't recognise it." They have NEVER stopped working at this since then, while the Left has faded away to the inefective position it has today. We "progressives" are shadows of what that name once meant in the US, and I personally find it shameful that so many think they are progressive without knowing the reality of that position in American history. Progressives FOUGHT for freedom and dignity for the workers and the average person and won what measure of that we once had by hard struggle and commitment and dedication.
Progressives today are caught up in a struggle with each other, and are not at all unified against our real and traditional enemy the Right as tool of the rich.
I have hope that the current beginnings of a class struggle in the US will make a positive impression on today's progressives and I hope that this will not all be forgotten and just dissipate...if it does, our hope for a better country goes with it.

Just my opinion, of course.

mark

[Jamastiene]

9. Sadly, I think, yes.

Unless we can reign in the MIC, not only are our best days behind us, but we will become more hated than ever before. That will leave us not only not as well off as we once were as a country, but it will make us more and more of a target. That is even worse than just our best days being behind us.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

10. long gone n/t

[Captain Beefheart]

13. +100 nt

...fraid you're right.

[mmonk]

11. Possibly. At least a couple of generations most likely.