Yes exactly, just like the.. uhm.. the British Empire could not have possibly declined? Your point is that, because the U.S. has big companies and wealth, it can't be a sinking ship? Because to me this seems like a straw-man.

What I'm saying is that the U.S. is currently in decline, and many will agree with me. Where this leads your (I'm assuming) country, nobody knows. But to me, it doesn't look great.

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YZF 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm not American. But I guess I feel part of the US led western world order.

The US has big companies and wealth because it has the right ecosystem to create those.

The US is in decline is a meme. Decline can't be measured over short intervals. Maybe it is maybe it isn't. We'll see in 5 decades.

One thing I'm pretty sure about is that this decline of the US that many seem to be excited for and wishing here, if or when it happens, is not going to end well for most of those people. Another way of saying this is that most of the people commenting here have benefited and still benefit from the dominance of the US and the technology and innovation coming out of it, including Y Combinator. What is the long term strategic thinking behind "let's attack the US and make it fail" -> the answer is none. It should be in the interest of most of us to see more US success. We whine as everything around us is an outcome of that success.

Warren Buffet's "Never bet against America" still very much holds in my opinion.

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dfdsjsdklfjs 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> I'm not American. But I guess I feel part of the US led western world order.

Thanks to the diligent efforts of Hollywood.

> The US has big companies and wealth because it has the right ecosystem to create those.

It also has giant homeless camps stretching on for miles, abandoned and collapsing old houses, factories, etc as far as the eye can see.

The so-called "wealth" of this country is highly concentrated and is so far beyond the reach of most people we might as well be living in a different country.

As we speak we are headed to a giant market collapse as the last dollars are shaken out of everyone's pocket, and we continue into a hard Depression. This will be followed by a World War. The outcome of that one will be much different than the last one.

> The US is in decline is a meme.

Wrong. The United States is in fact in decline, and has been for decades. It is the end of the American Empire.

Source: I am an actual American, who has eyes and ears and most importantly, has a deep understanding of history, both ancient and "modern." This ship is sinking. The only people who haven't figured it out are people brainwashed by the media. It's easier for that to happen when you don't have a front row seat to the circus.

> It should be in the interest of most of us to see more US success.

Nope. It isn't. If it were, then it would not be failing. Think about it.

It's said there are three types of people in the world:

1) Those who make things happen.

2) Those who watch things happen.

3) Those who look around in confusion asking, "What happened?"

That last one is you.

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YZF an hour ago | parent [-]

How old are you? What are your political views?

How do you measure decline and what in your opinion is rising vs. this decline.

There have certainly been some trends like globalization, climate change, social media, the pandemic, immigration etc.

Can you elaborate on how it's in the interest of a hypothetical French person commenting on Hacker News, typing on their MBP laptop, tuning in to NetFlix, asking ChatGPT for recipes, to see the US fail and what you mean by fail. Fail as in break up? chaos? become a third world country? Total collapse of US tech? What does fail look like.

This is not a zero sum game.

EDIT: you edited while I was replying which makes this a moving target.

EDIT2: The US has already survived depressions and world wars.

It's true that wealth inequality is historically high but not the highest: https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/SaezZucman14slides.pdf

But as I said this is not a zero sum game: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N real median household income is at all times high.

I'm not saying everything is great but I'm certainly not brainwashed by the media. Will there be economic trouble ahead- sure. There always are. Are there other places in the world with structural advantages over the USA? I'm not seeing them. Can the US lose its advantages - everything is possible.

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dfdsjsdklfjs an hour ago | parent [-]

> How old are you?

Irrelevant.

> What are your political views?

Irrelevant.

> How do you measure decline

Countless ways. I use my eyes and ears to start.

> and what in your opinion is rising vs. this decline.

Poverty, destitution, illiteracy, and ignorance are all rising trends in the USA.

> Can you elaborate on how it's in the interest of a hypothetical French person [...]

Completely irrelevant. You don't get to wish for the world that you want. The FACT is, it is the end of the American Empire. And the end of France too in a lot of ways, based on what I can see from here. Especially if there's a lot of folks like you in the population.

How big is your farmstead and how much food can you produce? What skilled trades do you have that are of use in a World War type situation, besides holding a machine gun? Those are facts that will be of importance to you in the coming years.

> EDIT: you edited while I was replying which makes this a moving target.

It's OK if you sit back and wait for my thought to be completed before rushing to reply with your ignorant opinion.

Familiarize yourself with the essay "The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival" by Sir John Glubb. Then I would recommend America's Secret Establishment by Antony Cyril Sutton.

There are many, many more books you will need to read before you understand anything about the present day, let alone what tomorrow holds.

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YZF an hour ago | parent [-]

It is relevant because you seem very young. I'm not young and I've seen processes as they happen.

Eyes and ears are not good enough. You might be seeing some local effects that are biasing your opinion.

I'm interested in your political views because they seem extremely left. Your political views are relevant because they shape your perception of reality and they also tell us what narratives you've exposed to.

I have pretty decent skills in various areas from mechanical, electronics, to woodworking, to music, to martial arts. not to mention software that's my day job. I can grow food. But from your predictions sounds like I need a nuclear bunker on a remote island.

EDIT: "The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival" -> yeah I've read this a long time ago. This is a common argument about how the US done.

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dfdsjsdklfjs an hour ago | parent [-]

> It is relevant because you seem very young.

Well you're wrong. Again.

When your theories are consistently wrong, it's time to pause and reflect.

> I'm not young and I've seen processes as they happen.

You're wrong, but you've got your opinions though. Which you are sure are better than mine. The guy whose ancestors literally founded this country.

Please, Mr. Frenchman, tell me more about my own country.

> Eyes and ears are not good enough.

Wrong. They are the foundation of knowledge.

> You might be seeing some local effects that are biasing your opinion.

Wrong.

> I'm interested in your political views because they seem extremely left.

Wrong.

> Your political views are relevant because they shape your perception of reality and they also tell us what narratives you've exposed to.

Wrong. Not a word I can utter regarding my "political views" would help you in any way.

You're nowhere near the level of understanding necessary to have an intelligent conversation on this subject. Worse, you arrogantly believe that your knowledge is better than mine.

Read the essay I took the time to recommend. Read the book I recommended. When you are ready to learn more, then we may have a conversation. Until then, you have nothing to add to this thread that is of any value to anyone.

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YZF an hour ago | parent [-]

I'm not French. I guess we're both arrogant.

"America's Secret Establishment" I have not heard of. I'll put it on my reading list.

	▲	dfdsjsdklfjs 37 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Of course you haven't heard of it. 99% of Americans haven't either. By design, and by choice. https://annas-archive.gl/md5/ae552367aadb4bc3cf01967636733d6...