Stagger On, Weary Titan

Via robotwisdom, I came across this provocative yet evenhanded opinion piece from the Guardian, reprinted at Common Dreams. It draws comparisons between America's Iraq involvement and the British Boer War of 1905. Deja vu all over again. We have to start imagining the prospect of what might happen should America's hyperpotent hegemony decline in the next 20 to 50 years, as it did in Britain. When Britain declined and fell after World War II, America was there to scoop up the pieces, and few would argue that America as superpower was a bad thing compared to the superpower runner-ups. So what comes of America once we cue to fadeout? The article is worth quoting at this point: "If you are, by any chance, of that persuasion that would instinctively find this a cause for rejoicing, pause for a moment to consider two things: first, that major shifts of power between rising and falling great powers have usually been accompanied by major wars; and second, that the next top dog could be a lot worse."