How America Can Rise Again
In How America Can Rise Again, John Fallows addresses the current state of the United States of America as he tries to establish whether the nation is truly crumbling as many critics and experts claim. Fallows’ analysis of the situation is aided by the fact that he spent some time in Asia, particularly China and India, and is therefore able to compare the situation in the United States with that in two of the world’s fastest rising industrial powers. His analysis is also constructed around the views and opinions of some experts who he addressed with the of America’s apparent collapse. While speaking with historians, soldiers, politicians and experts in various fields, Fallows sought to establish whether the fears of America’s demise were justified or simply a repetition of the regular alarmist claims of discontent parties in the nation. While Fallows’ arguments regarding America’s current state are largely infallible, his conclusions are skewed by the fact that he only compares the United States to China, and not other significant powers such as the European Union.
How America Can Rise Again
Fallows starts his article by explaining the context of his analysis to the reader and by providing some background information. He explains that there have been fears throughout America that the nation the claim of world leader at an alarming rate. This issue has been exacerbated by the recent economic crisis that resulted in thousands of home foreclosures, downsizing in various large industries, and the complete shutdown of some of America’s largest companies. The combination of his own childhood memories and the experiences that he had in China and India provide the backdrop for Fallows analysis as he co...
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...n in the values that each group stands for. These issues are taking their toll on the nation and exacerbating its weak economic state (Rapooza, 2011). Additionally, the situation may be contributing to the increasingly alarmist sentiments of many Americans.
Conclusion
Fallows article was compelling and insightful as he presented the issues regarding America’s apparently impending collapse. His ability to compare the United States to China introduced a unique perspective to the analysis as he showed that the nation might be falling behind its Asian counterpart. However, an analysis of the US with the European Union reveals that America is still not as badly off. If the right changes are made within the governance system and perhaps the constitution, the United States will successfully stave off their assumed decline and reinstate its position as a global hegemony.
In Todd Shepard’s work Voices of Decolonization, the featured documents provide keen insight into the geopolitical environment of the era of decolonization (1945-1965) and the external and internal pressures on the relationships between colonial nations and the territories that they held dominion over (Shepard 10). Decolonization is the result of a combination of national self-determination and the establishment of functional international institutions composed of independent sovereign nations united towards common goals. As decolonization progressed, it intersected with points of significant sociopolitical tension between colonies and the nations that colonized them. Some of these moments of tension came in the form of progressive ideals held by international agencies which colonial nations were allied with, the revolt of colonized populations against their standing government in favor of independence, and in moral and political conflicts that arose when decolonization takes a form unexpected or undesired by the primary agents of progressive international institutions.
The US have always been having many advancements. They are one of the most powerful countries in the world with advancements like military, technology, arts, and etc. Although they have many of those advancements there is always a negative side happening in the US that could potentially make them fall. Many people will think that there could be no way the US will fall, but there is always an end to something. For example, empires from thousands of years ago who had many advancements had a fall. The US is going to soon turn like into one of these fallen empires because they are having the same issues that made those empires fall. The US will fall soon because of their environmental problems, immune system, and military spending.
In today’s society you either have to work hard to live a good life, or just inherit a lump sum of cash, which is probably never going to happen. So instead a person has to work a usual nine to five just to put food on the table for their families, and in many cases that is not even enough. In the article, “Why We Work” by Andrew Curry, Curry examines the complexities of work and touches on the reasons why many workers feel unsatisfied with their jobs. Barbara Ehrenreich writes an essay called, “Serving in Florida” which is about the overlooked life of being a server and the struggles of working off low minimum wages. Curry’s standpoint on jobs is that workers are not satisfied, the job takes control of their whole life, and workers spend
Gabriel Kolko is one of American historians and authors. He wrote a book named “The Triumph of Conservatism: A Re-interpretation of American History, 1900-1916”, and “Meat Inspection: Theory and Reality” is an article in that book. It introduced about Meat Inspection Act in Progressive Era: the main reasoned why it happened, how it affected on legislation, and how government- especially president Roosevelt- executed the new law. Through this article, Kolko also showed his opinion about supporting “free market” and condemning “political capitalism”.
Tindall, George, and David Shi. America: A Narrative History. Ed. 9, Vol. 1. New York: WW. Norton & Company, 2013. 185,193. Print.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on over glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride.
The United States of America has never been content with stagnation. The landmass of the Thirteen Colonies was enough to rival that of the Mother country from which they separated. The forefathers believed that it was the manifest destiny of this nation to eventually claim the expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. By 1890, nearly a hundred years following the original claim of Manifest Destiny, the land that was once open, was now under American control. But no sooner was the Great American Frontier closed, than was the door to East Asian expansion opened with the great gold key of American diplomacy. In a world where imperialism was contagious, and cartographers had to work around the clock to keep up with an ever-changing geopolitical landscape, the United States seized the opportunity to establish herself as a significant world power. With great expansionist minds at her helm, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft the United States began to grow beyond her border to claim stake in this wide-open world. This new expansionism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was a different institution than its early to mid nineteenth century counterpart. Still, the drive to exercise the sovereignty of the United State and to propel itself over the world’s stage was the same then as it was in the time of Thomas Jefferson. In order to understand this assertion, attention must be given to three levels of analysis. First, the similarities that exist between the drive and purpose of old and new expansion must be taken into account. Second, the differences in the global political scene must be considered. Finally, there exits differences in the means by which expansion occurred.
After the end of the World War I in 1920, the United States entered in a period where great changes were made. During this period known as the New Era of the 1920’s, many innovations were taking place as well as many economic developments, which were stimulating the way through a change in America’s society. However, while for some Americans this was an era of better opportunities for living, some others were suffering the consequences. Later on, with an unequal distribution of wealth and low incomes, America’s economy was in a vulnerable point of a catastrophic collapse. And so it was. By the end of the 1920’s, when the stock market crashed, the prosperity of that period disappeared and the nation was sunk into an economic catastrophe known as the Great Depression. Many factors constituted the reasons for this collapse, for example, the Wall Street crash, the oligopolies domination over American industries, the weaknesses in some industries (textile, coal and agriculture), and also the government policies and international economic difficulties. Then, by the early 1930 with the depression spreading and affecting the entire society, the policies, philosophy and optimism that Herbert Hoover had brought to his presidency was being challenged. As a result, by the time of the elections in 1932, Hoover lost the presidency against the candidate of the Democratic Party, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his campaign of what he called the New Deal. Based on this, FDR pushed towards many solutions for the “crises of a collapsing financial system, crippling unemployment, and agricultural and industrial breakdown” (Goldfield, Page 704). Even thought when various changes were made, it was during the period right after the elections of 1936 that polit...
...nce, that while the bourgeoisie can assert its interests everywhere.” (Conklin & Fletcher, 1999, p. 50). Even though today’s society has branched away from an imperialistic mindset, the roots of globalization promote the advancements of power to those who are already very much in power, minus the war and the bloodthirsty monopolizations. To step outside the spectrum of imperialism, and ponder upon today’s world culture, America seems to be shaping the world, as we know it. The blueprint of progress and ever changing industrial, economical and global influences are greatly dependent on that of America and their innovations. It may not be American scientists behind the computers at NASA or behind the keyboards of Windows computers but there are U.S. based industries. The exponential progress of Globalization can be directly linked to American affairs, without a doubt.
It is somehow strange for today’s reader to find out that the situation with America’s foreign affairs hasn’t changed much. As some clever people have said, “The History book on the shelf is always repeating itself.” Even after nineteen years, Americans think of themselves as citizens of the strongest nation in the world. Even after the September the 11th. Even after Iraq. And Afghanistan.
Before World War II, it became very clear that the US would play a new, and important leading role in the world. Henry Luce, author of The American Century, wrote about the new roles he anticipated the US to have. His essay calls the US to action in leading the rest of the world in our ways. About a year later on May 8th, 1942, Vice President Henry Wallace proposed similar ideas in a speech. He and Luce both saw the US as leading powers but disagreed on how the leading should be done. Wallace portrays the US in a friendlier manner. He calls the upcoming era the century of the common man while Luce calls it the American century. This topic is relevant today. How much involvement should leading countries have in developing ones and how should
“While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls - the World.” Lord Byron. This essay will discuss the similarities of military, economics and systems of government between the Roman Empire of the 6th century BCE and the United States of America of the 20th century. History has revealed that all superpowers fall eventually, although much time has passed since the glory days of Rome we see in 2015 the largest superpower in charge, the United States. There are many similarities that can be drawn between the American superpower and the Roman Empire such as the same founding of government and both dominated in military, as well as economic similarities. This leads to the conclusion that because the rise to power between the two powers was so similar, the downfall will be equally parallel.
Decade after decade, West after West, this rebirth of American society had gone on, and left its traces behind it, which reacted on the East. The history of our political institutions, our democracy, is not a history of imitation, of simple borrowing; it is a history of the evolution and adaptation of organs in response to changed environment, a history of the origin of new political species. In this sense, therefore, the West has been a constructive force of the highest significance in our life.
A problem America is experiencing is the economic growth, it is a problem because the wealth growth is only affecting the rich. It is as simple as this, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Robert Reich points this out in his text, Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer. This has been a problem recurring since the industrial revolution, because of the labor groups being stuck in that position. Also, the mergers, and lawyers cycle around their money through lawsuits, and takeovers. Reich uses metaphors in his text about the fall of economy, and he uses boats. There are three boats that are being represented by different economic standing. The reason why Americans are having such troubling economic standings
In this paper, I will argue that the current system is hegemonial. My explanation to hegemony will then be centered on the sources of the United States as a hegemonial power. Furthermore, I will state the different primary implications associated with the rise of China and what the Roman Empire offers for understanding the United Sta...