“Growth takes place whenever a challenge evokes a successful response that, in turn, evokes a further and different challenge. We have not found any intrinsic reason why this process should not repeat itself indefinitely, even though a majority of civilizations have failed, as a matter of historical fact.”
- Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History -
Title : The Post American World
Writer : Fareed Zakaria
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Pages : 292 (Inclusive of citations, indexes)
A civilization isn’t built in a day, or in a year, or in ten years. It will take tens of years or hundreds of years or maybe more. The great empires of the past world such as the Islamic empires, the Roman empire, the Greek empire, the Persian empire, China, India, Siamese and other fallen empires provides us the historical facts and knowledge on how a great civilization was built and retained and how those empires crumbled.
The Roman Empire, an empire of colossal size and power, known for its military prowess, crumbled to the ground. The Greek empire which is known for its great knowledge, an empire that gave birth to important ancient scholars such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Phytagoras and many more, fell. China, an empire so big that it sailed the world and spread its influence by conquering the other continent, fell. The great Islamic empires of the past, armed with a system (Islam - the adDeen) – a complete system that include politics, military, economy, welfare and other aspects of life. With this complete system, the Muslims conquered almost two-third of the world. But then again, this colossal empire crumbled to the ground when the time came. Of course, there are many factors that caused the fall of an empire, be it internal or external factors. But the main point here is, no empire will be able to last forever. The history taught us that way. And what can we get from it? We learn on how to sustain long enough, to be able to last ‘almost’ forever.
The America as it is today – so far that we have known (from a small scope of an eye which is the media) or maybe some of our gifted friends that are able to further their studies to the land of Uncle Sam, is a big country. Not only its wide lands spread across the globe, the America also spread its wings of influence almost throughout the whole world. This is the America that we know – a sheer power so big, that it doesn’t even sound as if we’re boasting when we call America the biggest world power in the world.
Having toppled the British empire as the biggest world power not so long ago, the United States of America (U.S.A) keeps on growing fast.
We all knew how powerful the economy of the U.S is. The U.S possess a vigor economy, in which it is able to stand almost on its own. Pioneering and adapting the open market system at its best, the U.S is able to surpass the British economical triumph. Surpassing it basically means, triumphing it. Creating a robust economic system and spread it across the globe. The U.S. openness is one of its strongest and unique traits. This trait enables the U.S. to grow in a very fast pace, and enable it to run in a very long time. It provides the U.S speed, and endurance. The intelligence of the U.S presidents and ministers, past and present is as important and ought to be reckoned with. They contributed a lot to the condition of the U.S today.
Using diplomacy and democracy, the U.S spread its fingers of influence throughout the world. Meddling with every issue that occurred in the world. Middle East, Europe, Asia. All of these continents have been ‘touched’ by the U.S. The U.S’s means of spreading influence are not limited only to peace approaches. When it comes to ideological expanding, the U.S boasted its sheer military prowess. Military capabilities of the U.S is not even a topic that needs to be discussed or debated. The U.S has always been a big spender when it comes to military. The U.S’s current annual budget spending on military and weaponry maintenance and military technological advancement is the highest in the world – spending billions of dollars solely on military. And with this, the U.S overcame the powerful red armies of the Soviet Union, and in another timeline, trampling the moribund Hitler’s Nazis. By surpassing these giants of the world in their prime time, the U.S forged a strong influential image all over the world. Despite the big spending on military, the U.S doesn’t jeopardize the other aspects. The U.S knows that to last longer, balance is important.
By doing so, the U.S demonstrates an example. Almost a message of an image to the world. To other countries, the U.S conveys an image of a friend that can be relied on, and a power to be feared of. And to the people throughout the world, the U.S is an open motherland, capable of showering a thirsty and wanting persons with a chance, an opportunity to start fresh, and in time to succeed and contribute to the country. This, is the U.S that we know.
P.s. The review writer is not bias towards the U.S or anything. Merely stating the facts.
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