America is in Decline and We Should Worry | Niall Ferguson

the U.S. has spent trillions of dollars on fruitless wars in the Middle East and has nothing to show for, whereas China has been investing heavily in education, infrastructure, technology and research. Unfortunately, the U.S. has not learned any lesson and still on the same path of wars, yet again. Some of the reasons the Roman empire collapsed are never ending wars and over extension. Does it sound familiar?

Maybe we’re just in decline but I’d say we are actually in total cultural and economic collapse.

A student from United States came to Hong Kong for exchange. I told her that our health care is free, our university fee is partially subsidized, and we only pay 15 percent max for tax. She said how is this possible ? I said we don't spend money on wars

"A weak authoritarian regime is more likely to lash out than one that feels confident" Exactly! This is why the US Empire has been starting non stop wars all around the war in the last decade.

There's no chance that debt levels like this can be called "misguided." This is either stupidity on a galactic scale or the destruction is 100% deliberate and purposeful.

It's funny to see him saying worrying China "will lash out" when it turns weak, and totally ignores the US IS lashing out hard because it IS declining in every way.

Regarding what he said about our debt to GDP ratio being 110%, just as it was at the end of WWII... We could deal with that then, and then go on to the economic boom of the 1950s because we were, in the aftermath of WWII, the only fully intact, large industrial base in the world. At the end of the war, the US was producing half of the world's manufactured goods. It gave us the income to service our massive war debt, pay most of it off, and have wealth and living standards unprecedented in human history. Today, we only produce 16.6% of the world's manufactured goods. Taking on the level of debt we have now was simply insane. We are in for some really hard times if we don't get our fiscal house in order.

We are going down fast folks. And many have no idea what’s coming

Saying China will launch a war is a clear display of idiocy.

is this why America is lashing out? it feels weak and threatened?

The one who lashes out on others would probably be the US.

All countries and empires decline eventually. Why should America be any different?

as a chinese, the major problem i feel america has is they are living in the shadow of others, like China China China but not live for themselves, this is very crazy

USA is finished. Leave if you can.

"Don't forget to pay your taxes. Ukraine and Israel are counting on them!" It breaks my heart down to its deepest core when I realize everyday how us Americans dont actually matter anymore to our government...

People under 30 really need to worry.

I'm not worried about America'd decline because the world needs multipolarity

THE AMERICAN POLITICIANS AND OUR PEOPLE DO NOT SEEN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN NOT CONTINUE TO SPEND LIKE CRAZY.

We’re stuck with an Establishment that bet incorrectly and doesn’t really know how to deal with a mess that it caused. We are not living in a fully-globalized peaceful world that values making $, having material comforts, and letting the US steward us all along to its tune. Only a fool who spent no time in a city schoolyard could have thought the outcome would be different. Modern liberalism, not classical liberalism, gone awry. Volcker, a brilliant but common-sense man, said we’re run by a plutocracy. He’d know, right? For him to say that, that, besides being true, had to be problematic. But they don’t seem to think they’re the problem. In fact, they double-down on themselves and their way of thinking and their ideas. That might be the problem.

Late 1970- 80s American automotive makers refused to deliver quality cars at a good price. Japanese cars took the market. It’s was a complete failure to innovate and provide the customer with what they wanted a good product at a good price. China is about to do the same with EVs.