In his article “Why the United States is in Decline,” Professor Hu Angang discusses the rise of China by examining a number of aspects which he considers demonstrate the decline of United States (Hu, 2014). In making his point Hu, discusses the specific circumstances of America’s decline and China’s rise. In his explanation, Hu concentrations on five main areas of scrutiny: GDP, manufacturing output, exports, human capital and national strength (Hu, 2014). While Hu’s analysis of the U.S. seems reasonable enough, the truth is that there is no proof to substantiate an inevitable and permanent American decline.
First, while the U.S. has recently suffered a period of economic stagnation, it is a situation that is happening across the world. To be sure, economic issues are evident not only in the U.S. but also in Europe, Japan, Brazil and Russia. To be sure, this year even China’s economy itself has displayed signs of slackening. This is illustrated by signs of decreasing industrial output, falling property prices, and underwhelming economic news. Some news reports even suggest that China will not be able to make it economic growth targets this year 9Magnier, 2015). Moreover, recent reports suggest that the U.S. economy is regaining its health and gradually attaining viable progress (Elwell, 2013). Accordingly, the facts suggest that an American economic argument is far a certainty.
Second, the global information technology economy has increasingly become one of the main sources of economic output and growth, the U.S. technology industry remains as one of the most productive and influential sectors in the world. Indeed, last year, American technology companies occupied nine of the top ten largest technology companies in the world. Moreover, as consumer information technology, such as social media, becomes more popular, American technology companies including Facebook, Twitter, and Uber are some of the world’s most popular and used businesses in the world. In other words, the American technology industry will remain at the forefront of the information technology revolution for the immediate future. Moreover, their leading position will continue to provide positive benefits to the U.S. economy, as well as influence throughout the world.
Third, while U.S. military power has decreased since the days of the Cold War, it nevertheless remains the world’s only military superpower. If dominance were based on military spending alone, the U.S. would win by a large margin. In 2014, the U.S. spent U.S. $581 billion on its defense budget (IISS, 2015). The next closest spender was China, who spent U.S. 129 billion. In addition to defense spending, the U.S. also has one of the largest and most advanced militaries in the world. While the U.S. military might not still have the ability to fight two ground wars simultaneously, the need for fighting ground wars has declined over the past decade (Mulrine, 2012). Nevertheless, the U.S. military has nevertheless proven that it can transform itself into an efficient force that is more suited to the asymmetrical wars, such as the fight against the terrorist organization ISIS that are more common of the current times.
Fourth, America’s soft-power strength remains one of its most it most powerful indicators of worldwide influence. As President Barack Obama said a few years ago, “when there are problems in the world, the world doesn’t call Beijing; they call the United States, because that is how we roll” (Obama, 2014). America’s influence in the national centers, corridors of power and the communities of the world can’t be underestimated. For instance, the U.S. is one of the largest providers of foreign aid. This aid is used to provide a range of benefits such as hospitals, roads, and schools. Moreover, the U.S. is one of the top destinations for overseas students. Indeed, over 300,000 students from China alone are studying in the U.S. (Allen-Ebrahimian, 2015) Naturally, living in the U.S. will influence the students in some way, whether they remain in the U.S. or ultimately decide to return to the homeland. In addition, American culture as expressed through its music, films, sports, television, fashion, and pop culture are widely accepted, followed, and copied in every corner of the world. For example, the internet movie and television streaming service Netflix has customers in every country in the world except for China, North Korea, Crimea and Syria (Barret, 2016). Accordingly, while the people in the U.S. might not have access to the cultures of other nations, the world literally has access to, at least the popular culture of the U.S. Moreover, popular culture is addictively influential with the young who will eventually be in positions of power in their nations.
In conclusion, while both the adversaries and allies of the U.S. have reason to wonder about it viability as a power. These concerns are, as Hu points out, connected to a range of recent events such as the economic crisis of 2008, the failures in the “War of Terrorism”, and the rise of powerful nations such as China. Despite these less than optimal circumstances, however, the U.S. nevertheless remains a highly able nation. In other words, while there is no denying the fact that the U.S. has suffered a number of setbacks over the last decade, those setbacks or not indication that the nation is in permanent decline. Instead. It rather shows a temporary slowing of an ultimately forward motion. This is illustrated in the fact that the U.S. economy is showing sign of recovery when other nations are either still in recession or showing sign that that are heading towards recession. Moreover, with the rise of technology as a vital factor of economic growth; the U.S. technology industry remains as one of the world’s most dominant. The U.S. still stands as the only world military superpower. Lastly, American cultural, diplomatic, and political influence remains one of its most enduring powers.
References
Allen-Ebrahimian, B. (2015, Nov. 16). Chinese students in America: 300,000 and counting. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/16/china-us-colleges-education-chinese-students-university/
Barret, B. (2016, Jan. 01). Netflix just launched in 130 new countries. Like, this morning. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2016/01/netflix-just-launched-in-130-new-countries-like-this-morning/
Elwell, C.K. (2013, Apr. 18). Economic recovery: Sustaining U.S. economic growth in a post-crisis economy. Retrieved from https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41332.pdf
Hu, A. (2014, Oct. 01). Why the United States is in decline? Retrieved from http://www.uscnpm.org/blog/2014/10/01/why-the-united-states-is-in-decline/
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). (2015, Feb. 11). Military balance 2015 press statement. Retrieved from https://www.iiss.org/en/publications/military%20balance/issues/the-military-balance-2015-5ea6
Magnier, M. (2015, Mar. 11). China economic data show more signs of weakness. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-january-february-industrial-output-growth-slows-1426052937
Mulrine, A. (2012, Jan. 03). Pentagon to abandon two-war strategy, but at what cost to US security. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0103/Pentagon-to-abandon-two-war-strategy-but-at-what-cost-to-US-security
Obama, B. (2014, Oct. 09). Remarks by the President at a DNC event. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/09/remarks-by-president-dnc-event-los-angeles-ca
