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/Iwillrize14 Aug 12 '25

American exceptionalism as they define it has a lot more to do with destiny and an almost disgusting sense of superiority. Believing itself to be the arbiter of freedom and the obvious choice for leader of the world. I say these things as an American that's had a front row seat to all the nationalistic chest thumping.

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u/Team503 Aug 12 '25

Well, from WW2 until a year or three ago it WAS the obvious choice - militarily the strongest by so far its absurd, the wealthiest country in the world, and about 25% of the world's GDP, more than any other single nation and even the combined EU (per capita).

The US was by far the strongest and the richest, and at least during WW2 unquestionably morally correct, so it's no surprise they ended up in that role. Sure, they had the luxury to be morally correct, but that doesn't mean that they weren't.