“For states in demographic decline with ever more lavish social programs, the question is a simple one: Can they get real? Can they grow up before they grow old? If not, then they'll end their days in societies dominated by people with a very different worldview.” PeopleIfsDifferentRealEndsStatesSocialGrowsSimpleGrowing UpProgramDeclineGet RealWorldviewDemographicsSocial Programs Book:America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It Source: America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It
“[T]here seems to have been an actual decline in rational thinking. The United States had become a place where entertainers and professional athletes were mistaken for people of importance. They were idolized and treated as leaders; their opinions were sought on everything and they took themselves just as seriously-after all, if an athlete is paid a million or more a year, he knows he is important ... so his opinions of foreign affairs and domestic policies must be important, too, even though he proves himself to be ignorant and subliterate every time he opens his mouth.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsYearsHas BeensImportantStatesReasonSeemsPoliticsUnitedLeaderOpinionMillionsUnited StatesMediaPolicyProveMouthsImportancePaidAffairAthleteIgnorantTreatedRationalDeclineMistakenEntertainersRational ThinkingProfessional AthleteForeign AffairsIdolizedDomestic Policy Author:Robert A. Heinlein
“Through exploitation of its influence over global financial affairs, the United States has been able to cover the costs of its hegemonic position, preserve a false domestic prosperity, and mask the consequences of its relative political and economic decline.” Has BeensStatesAblePoliticalUnitedUnited StatesInfluenceEconomicPositionCostConsequenceAffairFinancialProsperityPreservesMaskRelativeDeclineExploitation Book:The Political Economy of International Relations Source: The Political Economy of International Relations