America’s Decline: Not a Given

Scott Nason / March 15, 2011

Critics of America’s traditional style of leadership seem to have once again adopted a narrative of America’s inevitable decline. Drawn-out wars, China’s rising influence, and a crushing national debt are seen as kryptonite to the world’s sole superpower.

The challenges these issues pose to American influence in the world is daunting, but America’s decline is not a foregone conclusion, as Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes argued in a recent Washington Times piece.

During Ronald Reagan’s military buildup in the 1980s, Paul Kennedy of Yale argued that the United States suffered from an “imperial overstretch,” which would result in a decline in U.S. influence and prestige. Yet the vibrancy of the U.S. economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union presented a strong counterargument to his dire predictions. (more…)