The following is excerpted from Chapter 1 of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity
The Most Powerful Nation on Earth, Ever?
Without a doubt, the United States is the most powerful nation because of current technology. We should be able to handle: the Mongol Empire with all of 250,000 warriors, some on horses; the Roman Empire, with less than half a million soldiers controlling most of Europe, including England and Turkey; the British Empire, which lorded over 25% of the world population (458 million in 1921), covering about 25% of the world land area. It’s true that the Sun never set over its possessions. But, tongue firmly in cheek, submarines and nuclear carriers, plus planes, against ships?
Yet, the Vietnam War and the war against terrorists taught us a bitter lesson. Advanced technology cannot win all wars. Is the current and future of wars linked to sabotage and terror? Thus, the most powerful nation, ever, can be beaten, or neutralized. We did find Saddam Hussein, but that was almost by accident through a snitch. With all our intelligence and advanced weapons, we can’t get to Osama bin Laden. On the other hand, maybe he did die from typhoid or some liver ailment. It might well be impossible to locate someone who is already dead and secretly buried.
But, in any case, the question, really, should, perhaps, be broader, in terms of relative economic/trade or cultural power. The $500 billion each year in excess profits going to the OPEC nations are fueling the enemy. This economic windfall is neutralizing our obvious superiority. To win all wars, we also need to prevail at the sociological and cultural level. Democracy is not catching on in many parts of the world because we have not gotten to the hearts and minds of the people. But the full analysis of this phase of power would need to be another book.
In a 2007 WorldPublicOpinion.org poll, 70% of Americans felt that China’s influence would increase over the next decade, while 60% of Russians chose their country over China at 50%. Both Russia and the U.S. gave the U.S. future influence rating of around 32%. Is the U.S. slipping?
The Most Powerful Nation on Earth, Ever?
Without a doubt, the United States is the most powerful nation because of current technology. We should be able to handle: the Mongol Empire with all of 250,000 warriors, some on horses; the Roman Empire, with less than half a million soldiers controlling most of Europe, including England and Turkey; the British Empire, which lorded over 25% of the world population (458 million in 1921), covering about 25% of the world land area. It’s true that the Sun never set over its possessions. But, tongue firmly in cheek, submarines and nuclear carriers, plus planes, against ships?
Yet, the Vietnam War and the war against terrorists taught us a bitter lesson. Advanced technology cannot win all wars. Is the current and future of wars linked to sabotage and terror? Thus, the most powerful nation, ever, can be beaten, or neutralized. We did find Saddam Hussein, but that was almost by accident through a snitch. With all our intelligence and advanced weapons, we can’t get to Osama bin Laden. On the other hand, maybe he did die from typhoid or some liver ailment. It might well be impossible to locate someone who is already dead and secretly buried.
But, in any case, the question, really, should, perhaps, be broader, in terms of relative economic/trade or cultural power. The $500 billion each year in excess profits going to the OPEC nations are fueling the enemy. This economic windfall is neutralizing our obvious superiority. To win all wars, we also need to prevail at the sociological and cultural level. Democracy is not catching on in many parts of the world because we have not gotten to the hearts and minds of the people. But the full analysis of this phase of power would need to be another book.
In a 2007 WorldPublicOpinion.org poll, 70% of Americans felt that China’s influence would increase over the next decade, while 60% of Russians chose their country over China at 50%. Both Russia and the U.S. gave the U.S. future influence rating of around 32%. Is the U.S. slipping?
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The Dow Jones Industrials slipped more than 200 points today, only to largely recover during the final 45 minutes, ending at -59 to 8520. World markets fell a couple of percent. By the way, the people actually supported President Bush's buck passing bailout of GM and Chrysler. Seventy percent, though, felt that bankruptcy was preferred to giving them any more money.
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Petroleum prices, as predicted on Friday, made a spectacular jump to $39.85, a leap of 18%. Gold went up $9/toz to $847.
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