Stagger on, weary Titan
From Al-Guardian:Stagger on, weary Titan
If you want to know what London was like in 1905, come to Washington in 2005. Imperial gravitas and massive self-importance. That sense of being the centre of the world. Hyperpower. Top dog. And yet, gnawing away beneath the surface, the nagging fear that your global supremacy is not half so secure as you would wish. As Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary, put it in 1902: "The weary Titan staggers under the too vast orb of his fate." The United States is now that weary Titan. In the British case, the angst was a result of the unexpectedly protracted, bloody and costly Boer war, in which a small group of foreign insurgents defied the mightiest military the world had seen; concern about the rising economic power of Germany and the United States; and a combination of imperial overstretch with socio-economic problems at home. Iraq is America's Boer war. A recent article in the New York Times plausibly estimated the prospective long-term cost of the Iraq War at more than $1 trillion. Increasingly, the Islamic Republic of Iran quietly calls the shots in the Shia south of Iraq. As the Washington joke goes: the war is over, and the Iranians won.
China and India are to the United States today what Germany and America were to Britain a hundred years ago. China is now the world's second largest energy consumer, after the United States. In the foreign reserve stakes, the US comes only ninth, after Singapore and just before Malaysia. According to some economists, the US has an effective net savings rate of zero. This country does not save; it spends. If you are, by any chance, of that persuasion that would instinctively find this a cause for rejoicing, pause for a moment to consider two things: first, that major shifts of power between rising and falling great powers have usually been accompanied by major wars; and second, that the next top dog could be a lot worse. So this is no time for schadenfreude. It's a time for critical solidarity. A few far-sighted people in Washington are beginning to formulate a long-term American strategy of trying to create an international order that would protect the interests of liberal democracies even when American hyperpower has faded; and to encourage rising powers such as India and China to sign up to such an order. That is exactly what today's weary Titan should be doing, and we should help him do it.
posted by Unknown @ 8:08 PM
8 Comments:
Fjordman, this is off-topic, but I just want to tell you again what a great blog you keep. I come here as often as possible to catch up on all the interesting news (and not just from Scandinavia), and I keep recommending you (& link-whoring for you all over the web!) to other people.
Thanks for making the effort.
Thanks just the same, but we don't need any more help. The president was right when he said, if you're not with us, you're with the terrorists. Guess which side the Italians chose?
Thank you, Baron. I don't know whether I can continue with this pace forever. I am considering taking a break from blogging, maybe for weeks.
I read the first paragraph and said this has to come from one of those kooky left-wing British papers.
Yup, The Guardian of stupidity.
I won't take the break for weeks yet. In fact, I plan to post at least 5-6 longer essays within the next two or three weeks.
I can understand the need for a break. However, there is a certain momentum to these things. How about some guest blogger who could serve as the bench warmer while you're gone.
It could be one of your frequent commenters, or someone you've noticed that you like, or some anon local person who'd be glad to take over for a bit but doesn't want the responsibility full time.
It has worked for others; it might be doable here. No one would be expected to match your output level, knowledge, or style; rather, they would serve to remind people you are coming back!
I remember when The Religious Policeman in Saudi Arabi closed shop. I was most disappointed. Then lo and behold, he popped up in England. I think the desert sand got a bit warm for safety, given his caustic wit.
Anyway, it's just a thought. I nominate PD 111, who is a wealth of information and always spot on.
talnik said: "US savings rates often do not include the holdings in stocks (!), real estate (!!) and value of personal businesses."
More so, they do not include retirement savings in 401(k), IRA and other such accounts. Considering the amount of money that is in those types of accounts, Al Guardian is a few trillion dollars short.
The article is full of half-truths, distortions and baseless speculation and the author is evidently a member of the Paul Krugman school of economics.
Did the article say we should sign up CHINA to the task of protecting liberal democracies? .... You mean, like Taiwan? (You have to LOVE al-Guwardiyyan.)
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