A salient point, from Robert Kaplan:
This is the story of the British Empire. As the Royal Navy shrunk — and globalization slowly offset the Anglo technological advantages in commerce and weaponry — the British ceded control of oceanic trade lanes. With this slow bleed of military and economic power post WWII (but mostly post-Suez), the British lost in a scant few decades what had previously taken three centuries to build. England’s power was derived from vast territorial conquest supported by a strong military. America’s power is derived from vast economic conquest supported by an even stronger military. Confidence in ourselves -and the will to support it with a powerful Armed Forces — is what sustains American prosperity, not social welfare and green initiatives.
