The decline and fall of the American empire

It will thrill some readers and appall others, but America is the latest in the last string of world empires that the world has been forced to enjoy (or endure, depending on your perspective. Right up front, let's compare the state of America today, with the criteria Glubb outlines in his article, which we talked about last time:

1. Average empire lifespan of 250 years? USA: 1776 - 2015 = 239 years; we're in the 10th generation since our founding.
2. Age of Pioneers? Check. Louisiana Purchase, Westward expansion, Manifest Destiny.
3. Age of Conquests? Check. Genocide of Native Americans, Monroe Doctrine, War with Mexico, Spanish-American War.
4. Age of Commerce? Check. Gilded Age, Roaring 20s, Post-WW2 boom. American-driven globalization. IMF, WTO, etc.
5. Age of Affluence? Check. Thriving middle class in 50s and 60s; increase in the number of millionaires and billionaires, but most unequal wealth distribution in developed world.
6. Age of Intellect? Check. More than our share of Nobel-Prize winners in science, medicine and economics; everybody should be able to go to college.
7. Age of Decadence? Check. A no-brainer.

Even though it's so obvious, we do need to stop and look at the last item, The Age of Decadence if for no other reason than to see how far along we might be. So how do we size up?

• Defensiveness (or much military)? Check. Defense budget larger than next 24 countries combined. Over 1,000 military bases worldwide. Still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan; thinking about Libya, and who knows where else. Militarization of police.
• Pessimism? Check. Financial crash and exoneration of guilty bankers. Fear of losing everything (bankruptcy because of medical bills, living from paycheck-to-paycheck, fear of unemployment.
• Materialism? Check. Lavish displays of wealth. Whole TV shows dedicated to the lives and lifestyles of the rich and famous.
• Frivolity? Check. Have there ever been as many sitcoms, game shows, and ludicrous reality shows as now? Consider as well how overboard we've gone on sports.
• The welfare state? Check. While some of you are thinking Food Stamps and Long-term unemployment benefits, I'm thinking corporate subsidies. The United States spends almost twice as much on corporate subsidies than on social saftety-net programs.
• An influx of foreigners? Check. Have you noticed how shrill the immigration debate has become? And, how is that fence along the Mexican border coming along?
• A weakening of religion? Check. Except for the Pope who is speaking out against the oppression of the poor, two other trends are noticeable: atheists are standing up for their "equal rights" or how about the Satanic Temple's holiday display in Florida? Furthermore, the only rise in traditionally understood religion we're seeing is in evermore literalist and fundamentalist belief systems.

Of course, we all know that it is current American policy to secure even more worldwide resources to feed its materialistic addiction, and the global financial community isn't going to stop until they have everything and the rest of us have nothing. No, it would seem to me that we're pretty much a spot-on example of Glubb's analysis. It can only be a matter of time, and not all that much time either.

There is an almost natural tendency to believe that we're somehow better or different than all the rest, and this fate will simply not befall us. I wouldn't be so sure. Glubb points out rather clearly that it is precisely this attitude that guarantees the repetition of history. As Santayana taught us, whoever fails to learn from history is condemned to repeat it.