As a European, I'd rather live in a world where the USA continues to exist than otherwise. True, I'd feel a much deeper grief for the destruction of Florence than, say, Las Vegas, but I don't wish Las Vegas any ill; and I would certainly feel any schadenfreude if it were to be wiped out.
But I don't feel the USA is irreplaceable as a source of innovation or ideas. If its universities ceased to be world class, the best and brightest young people in the world would go somewhere else, and so would the best scientists and teachers.
In a world without America, somewhere else would be "unique". I suspect it would be a multicultural, ethnically diverse "somewhere" (hint, hint). The world wouldn't become leaderless.
But I believe this is an academic, highly hypothetical discussion; short of some unimaginable catastrophe, America is not going to retire from the world stage any time soon.
Maybe so, but the European Union is the only political entity in the World to have made Keynesian economic policies illegal. Member-States can be fined heavily for not inscribing anti-Keynesian rules into their Constitutions. This blatant ideological bias doesn't bode well either for Europe or for its partners.
I agree with Jack Davis. By current rules, in the USA and elsewhere, it is much easier to make money in unethical than in ethical ways. One of the reasons for this is that top rates in income tax are far too low; so the highest earners have no incentive to reduce their taxes by investing in the productive sector of the economy
Oh no. Beyond a certain, "natural" measure, inequality is an artifact. And a very hard one to maintain if we consider the huge investment it requires in propaganda, surveillance, lobbying, weaponry and war.
The World Without America
As a European, I'd rather live in a world where the USA continues to exist than otherwise. True, I'd feel a much deeper grief for the destruction of Florence than, say, Las Vegas, but I don't wish Las Vegas any ill; and I would certainly feel any schadenfreude if it were to be wiped out.
But I don't feel the USA is irreplaceable as a source of innovation or ideas. If its universities ceased to be world class, the best and brightest young people in the world would go somewhere else, and so would the best scientists and teachers.
In a world without America, somewhere else would be "unique". I suspect it would be a multicultural, ethnically diverse "somewhere" (hint, hint). The world wouldn't become leaderless.
But I believe this is an academic, highly hypothetical discussion; short of some unimaginable catastrophe, America is not going to retire from the world stage any time soon.
The Coming Atlantic Century
Maybe so, but the European Union is the only political entity in the World to have made Keynesian economic policies illegal. Member-States can be fined heavily for not inscribing anti-Keynesian rules into their Constitutions. This blatant ideological bias doesn't bode well either for Europe or for its partners.
The Price of Inequality
My favourite comment in this thread!
The Price of Inequality
I agree with Jack Davis. By current rules, in the USA and elsewhere, it is much easier to make money in unethical than in ethical ways. One of the reasons for this is that top rates in income tax are far too low; so the highest earners have no incentive to reduce their taxes by investing in the productive sector of the economy
The Price of Inequality
Oh no. Beyond a certain, "natural" measure, inequality is an artifact. And a very hard one to maintain if we consider the huge investment it requires in propaganda, surveillance, lobbying, weaponry and war.