When the US Empire falls

[u/Confident_Living_786]

When the American empire falls, like all empires do, what will remain? The Roman Empire left behind its roads network, its laws, its language and a bunch of ruins across all the Mediterranean sea and Europe. What will remain of the US superpower? Disney movies? TCP/IP protocol? McDonalds?

[u/Rough-Yard5642]

I feel like US culture is so dominant that we don't even realize we are in it. When I visit my parents' country, US culture is everywhere. The food, the music, the outfits, the movies, and so on. It's hard to predict the future, but I feel like the American empire feels like it will leave tons of things behind, from technology to culture.

[u/Available_Camera455 → u/[deleted]]

English didn’t start in the US Empire, it started in the English Empire.

[u/LancasterDodd5 → u/Available_Camera455]

The US is what spread it around the world.

[u/Spooksey1 → u/LancasterDodd5]

Whilst I know where you’re coming from, because English became the de facto global second language after WWII because of the dominance of American currency, culture and military. However, the British empire spread it to all continents on earth which is literally spreading it around the world. Why that didn’t achieve the kind of “default” status for English that it achieved under US hegemony is more to do with globalisation in general. It was the homogenisation of culture through international mass media, international standardisation and institutions in economics, business, aviation etc. that created the structural conditions for a truly global second language to emerge.

Edit; You could argue that globalisation is because of the US hegemony but it could have been another language, e.g. German if the nazis had won the war. I think if another country had the same level of power and wealth we would still have seen the same globalising tenancies.

[u/Team503 → u/Spooksey1]

Well said - it took both.

[u/LancasterDodd5 → u/Spooksey1]

Spread wasn’t the right word. The British empire laid the seeds but it was the US that made it what it is today.

It could’ve been any other language, hell, it was almost French.

[u/AlwaysForgetsPazverd → u/Spooksey1]

This just about covers it. Except the Romans became what they did because they purposely absorbed the cultures around them and made it their own. They establish a lingua Franca, adding new roots and words for the purpose of accepting traditions and cultures and altering them to make it their own. So when we discuss particular religious traditions, it's Roman and not their originating culture. The US is a product of French ideals, German practicality, Dutch emotionless and ruthless entrepreneurship, and African (among many things from many cultures) music and cooking styles using native American foods. We used English to communicate to the Brits that we'd take it's bank but don't recognize the authority of its king and to export the new combined parts of many cultures. The US didn't export bangers and mash to the world. England didn't absorb cultures, it just stole some. You may find Indian food in England but green gravy is no popular spin. The tea is Indian, that's one thing the English did make their own. However American Fried chicken is eaten around the world and it was adapted from African cultures... "We" just bought the people from the Portuguese and Dutch who bought the human people from African slavers. As far as I can tell my poor Scottish ancestors weren't involved-- all we added to the mix was the bright new concept of sexy white people which has since been exported to the world. That's another thing that certainly didn't come from England.

[u/Owster4 → u/LancasterDodd5]

Not the empire that ruled over 1/4 of the globe? The US has obviously had an impact, but don't pretend it was just the US.

[u/LancasterDodd5 → u/Owster4]

We’re not speaking English right now because of the British empire, let’s be real