Daniel Bessner at The Ideas Letter:
The Donald J. Trump Administration’s war against Iran has renewed talk about the role the United States should play in the world. While in recent American history, public support for US wars has been relatively high in the first days of a conflict, only 41 percent of Americans supported the Iran War when it began, and these numbers have remained low. This lack of support is evidence of a broad shift in US public opinion away from kneejerk support for hegemony: Americans, it seems, have become skeptical of their empire.
As often occurs, public opinion has tracked material reality. The statistics tell a clear story: US economic and military power is in decline. In 1980, the United States represented 21.6 percent of global GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP); by 2016, that number had dropped to 15.9 percent; by 2025, it dropped to 14.6 percent; and it is projected to drop to 13.9 percent by 2030. The same is true when one examines the G7’s share of global GDP adjusted for PPP. In 1980, the G7 countries—the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan—represented 51.9 percent of global GDP adjusted for PPP; in 2016, 32.3 percent; in 2025, 28.3 percent; and this share is expected to drop to 26.2 percent by 2030. Over the past two decades, several countries in Asia have arisen to challenge North Atlantic economic power.
More here.
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