I’d like to argue that this isn’t a slow collapse, but a remarkably rapid one. The Roman Empire, for example, took almost 300 years from the Antonine Plague that halted it’s growth before the last western emperor was deposed, or almost 500 years if counting from Julius Ceasar and the eruption at Pompei.
The USA, by contrast, entered its decline a mere 25 years ago when it expended vast resources attempting to conquer the Graveyard of Empires, and only just last year ceded its position as global hegemon to China. At this rate, the American Empire might only last another generation or two.
I’d like to argue that this isn’t a slow collapse, but a remarkably rapid one. The Roman Empire, for example, took almost 300 years from the Antonine Plague that halted it’s growth before the last western emperor was deposed, or almost 500 years if counting from Julius Ceasar and the eruption at Pompei.
The USA, by contrast, entered its decline a mere 25 years ago when it expended vast resources attempting to conquer the Graveyard of Empires, and only just last year ceded its position as global hegemon to China. At this rate, the American Empire might only last another generation or two.