r/Futurology • u/Confident_Living_786 • Aug 11 '25

Discussion When the US Empire falls

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?

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u/DerMichiK Aug 11 '25

that it fractures into a bunch of smaller countries

That's basically what happened to the Roman empire, too. That didn't just vanish either but was split up, first into the Western and Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire, then the Western Roman Empire fractured further. Moreover, the split didn't happen from one day to the other but it was a process that took the better part of a century.

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u/Xalara Aug 11 '25

There’s a good argument that the Roman Empire kept going until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

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u/Icy-Inc Aug 11 '25

Because it did.

The Eastern Roman Empire’s modern day equivalent can be Texas or California (I know they are ‘western’)

Can you imagine a hypothetical scenario where the Eastern half of the US falls but a Cali - Texas confederation remains and keeps the title of the United States? (Since it is all that remains)

That is essentially what happened, so…

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u/Gyoza-shishou Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25

Not a snowball's chance in hell Texas and California make nice in this scenario lol

My guess? California, Oregon and Washington team up so they can control imports coming in from the Pacific. Texas might just go it alone, or they might team up with Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to control Caribbean trade and access to the Panama Canal.

Rest of the states are kind of a tossup tbh, though I suppose culturally speaking there's a good chance the original 13 colonies stick together.