US World Dominance

I have read several articles lately and one by Michael Elliott in Fortune Magazine I found particularly interesting. In the article he basically makes the point that the US is no longer as dominate, relatively speaking, as it was after WWII and that's okay.

I completely agree. A higher standard of living around the world is a great thing. The US does not need to produce 50% of the value in the world economy like it did in the 1940's. Producing 20% of a bigger pie is great for America and the rest of the world. It means more ingenuity, creativity and larger markets for products. Higher standard of living tends to limit population growth, conserve energy and clean up the environment. Of course there is a lot of work to bring the rest of the world up to the living standards of the US, but that would be a great thing, not something to fear.

Rising world prosperity would mean a smaller role for the US (think smaller fish in bigger pond), but that would probably due our hubris some good. There will most certainly be fear mongers out there that will claim this is a reason to be concerned. It's not. With a higher standard of living, nations will be less inclined to start wars as citizen will be more content with their political world. It also might mean the US will stop getting so involved in the affairs of others and we can focus on domestic problems.

In any event, everyone living longer with a better quality of life is something to embrace, not fear. I hope we can live with that...