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“The American Century Ends, and the Pacific Century begins.” Seriously? We say B.S. to that.
This moment in history is not the end of American dominance. If anything it is a beginning. In terms of dominance, America has barely rolled up its sleeves. [Let me explain.]
So say edited excerpts taken from an article* by mercenarytrader.com and posted** on SeekingAlpha.com under the title China To Bypass The United States… Blah, Blah, Who Cares?.
The following article is presented by Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com (A site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds) and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here; register here) and has been edited, abridged and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.
The article goes on to say in further edited excerpts:
The Economist reports in an article entitled Crowning the Tiger that China is on track to reclaim its crown (held until 1890 when America surpassed it) as the world’s largest economy by the end of this year concluding that “the American Century ends, and the Pacific Century begins”.
(click to enlarge)
We were fine until that last line, at which point we started laughing. Nobody has a crystal ball, and nobody knows for certain how the future will play out but, that said, we have odds and probabilities and the lessons of history at hand. As such, we can say pretty strongly: The 21st century will NOT be China’s. If anything the 21st century will belong – again – to the United States.
Let us remember that America is:
- the richest nation in the history of the world
- the single nation responsible for roughly a quarter of global GDP
- an agricultural superpower (only the EU exports more grain, and they aren’t a country)
- a technology / innovation / intellectual property superpower
- an entrepreneurial superpower
- a military superpower (with control of two oceans)
- an energy superpower (thanks to the shale boom)
- a real estate superpower (more high-dollar real estate than anywhere else)
- a demographic superpower (deeply favorable age mix vs. Europe and China)
- home to the wealthiest, most innovative companies in the world (whose revenues are taxable)
- home to +70 trillion in household wealth
- home to literally hundreds of trillions in natural resource assets and physical capital assets
- home to the world’s reserve currency which still accounts for 90%+ (!) of global transactions
Surely some stuff has been left out there…the broader point, though, is that America has barely begun to feel its strengths.
George Friedman, in his book entitled “The Next Decade“…thinks that, far from bestriding the 21st century like a colossus, China will actually become a relative backwater – too beset by managing internal problems to do much on the world stage – and that America is only in the “adolescent” stage of feeling its power…
Friedman could be wrong, but we more or less agree that this is the way to bet. If anyone has claim on “the 21st century,” it remains the United States and, for those inclined to comparing the American empire to the Roman empire or the British empire, remember how long those empires lasted. For the comparison to be accurate in rough historical development terms, we would have at least a hundred years to go (if not more) before hitting our zenith…
We do not mention all this because we are hyper-patriotic rah-rah USA types (though we do count ourselves glad to be American). Instead we are just looking at sober facts in light of the “big prediction” that China’s economy will outgrow the United States in PPP terms. In the true “big scheme of things,” this doesn’t matter much at all. Being big is not reason to brag, or a necessary source of power, if you are beset by crisis and troubles and constant fires to put out at home…
Make no mistake, America is heading into the 21st century with massive, massive net advantages…and thus far those advantages are not truly threatened in the least.
Editor’s Note: The author’s views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.
*Copyright 2012 Mercenary Trader – All Rights Reserved; **http://seekingalpha.com/article/2180983-china-to-bypass-the-united-states-blah-blah-who-cares?; © 2014 Seeking Alpha
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The 21st Century Will Belong to the U.S. & NOT China – Here’s Why
This piece is based on official data that are ALL manipulated .The Fractional banking system ( controlled from London city ) is not sustainable . The inflation is suppressed by controlling the price of gold . The Dollar’s world influence is degrading fast due to lack of trust ( since it has no physical back up )…China has build up considerable gold reserves and reached a true competitive level in technology
Never the less , Those who control the USA corporation should drop their imperial intentions as the world has changed ( in mind ) .The 21 st century is a multipolar world were the resources HAVE TO BE shared to eliminate the injustices and free energies are ready to take over the Corporates monopoles which have slowed down progress , polluted the planet and starved billion.The old paradigm on which the article is based is dying .
Gary – Good points, I look forward to reading more from you!
Also I’ll add that the odds of the tittle of this article being true are really 50:50 so that it would be wise for everyone to take a position that covers both, so that they don’t get caught short (no pun intended).