Next world power?

Cdt Matteo said:
So what do you think is gonna be the next world power? The West is very strong, but all great Empires (lack of a better word) come to an end.

All I can think is China or Russia.

My main concern is what is the world going to be like when the West falls? Probably a complete dictatorship... Oh lord...

When we do collapse: Fight to the last man.
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I am leaning toward China and India (I have read that some think Brazil could also attain the position) as contenders simply because they have the population and resources, with time and careful management will come the economy and power.

As far as the West falling I don't see why that will happen, it will just be surpassed by the greater buying/spending power of the latest "top of the heap", these days nations and their economies are so intertwined that empire building in the military sense is a thing of the past.
 
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MontyB said:
I am leaning toward China and India (I have read that some think Brazil could also attain the position) as contenders simply because they have the population and resources, with time and careful management will come the economy and power.

As far as the West falling I don't see why that will happen, it will just be surpassed by the greater buying/spending power of the latest "top of the heap", these days nations and their economies are so intertwined that empire building in the military sense is a thing of the past.
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I agree China or India would probably be next. I think eventually the west will fall though.. All through history no Great Nation or Empire has lasted forever no matter how strong they were at some point. And I think eventually History will repeat itself as it always has in that area. I just hate to think what kinda event will take place to make it happen though.
 
The British empire never collapsed nor was it brought down by some cataclysmic event it simply faded away. I tend to believe that the days of conquest and empires are over and have been for a good 100 years these dyas its all about trading blocks and economic strength.
 
Wars of worldwide proportions are still possible and even probable. Strategies are the only variables now. Economic power depends on talent and freedom to pursue an education to develop that talent. Freedom, freedom, freedom, the underpinning of successful educational pursuit cannot be structured by the state. It is the result of personal choice of one's field of study that breeds success and positive contributions to a society. Religious or idealogical restrictions on who or what gender is eligible to be educated is societal arsenic.

Personal drive to be successful in a chosen profession is a part of what a society instills in it's citizens. Any country which mistrusts academia because of the fear that the educated/educators will become a ruling class are doomed to failure.

No amount of technical development can be pilfered by military or industrial spying to produce a superpower and sustain necessary strength by copying yesterday's technology.
 
doc said:
I agree China or India would probably be next. I think eventually the west will fall though.. All through history no Great Nation or Empire has lasted forever no matter how strong they were at some point. And I think eventually History will repeat itself as it always has in that area. I just hate to think what kinda event will take place to make it happen though.
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I am not so sure. Both are growing economic powers and military, but both countries have very deep social problems. As the population becomes more financially affluent they are going to demand greater social freedom and thats going to be a HUGE problem as India has a Caste System and China is an politically/socially oppressive regime. Either case could spin into revolution or Cival War.
 
The Chinese people will tolerate the PLA government as long as they can deliver results. It's the government in China that feels the pressure really.
 
Missileer said:
Wars of worldwide proportions are still possible and even probable. Strategies are the only variables now. Economic power depends on talent and freedom to pursue an education to develop that talent. Freedom, freedom, freedom, the underpinning of successful educational pursuit cannot be structured by the state. It is the result of personal choice of one's field of study that breeds success and positive contributions to a society. Religious or idealogical restrictions on who or what gender is eligible to be educated is societal arsenic.

Personal drive to be successful in a chosen profession is a part of what a society instills in it's citizens. Any country which mistrusts academia because of the fear that the educated/educators will become a ruling class are doomed to failure.

No amount of technical development can be pilfered by military or industrial spying to produce a superpower and sustain necessary strength by copying yesterday's technology.
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I don't agree history is littered with empires and superpowers of their day that never met any of these factors, in fact I would go as far as saying that only the Roman empire came closest to meeting these standards.

As far as war on a global scale goes I seriously doubt that we will see another world war as it is simply no longer possible, there is no nation on earth with the economic or military capacity to carry out such actions especially when you take into account the effect of widespread nuclear armament and the ensuing alliances that go with them. I think that if we were to analyse this objectively global war and empires effectively died with the 1914-1918 war, WW2 simply proved it.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
The Chinese people will tolerate the PLA government as long as they can deliver results. It's the government in China that feels the pressure really.
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Are you familiar with the expression "Give a man an inch he'll take a mile".

Now that the Chinese have tasted freedom (economic freedom) they will soon be asking for even greater freedom. They can now buy cars and boats but soon they will want to start to drive them, perhaps into places the government doesn't want them to go (like Taiwan).

What happens when the government attempts to stop this, the same result when they try to ban Google -people will do it anyway, just as American Tourists visit Cuba.
 
mmarsh said:
I am not so sure. Both are growing economic powers and military, but both countries have very deep social problems. As the population becomes more financially affluent they are going to demand greater social freedom and thats going to be a HUGE problem as India has a Caste System and China is an politically/socially oppressive regime. Either case could spin into revolution or Cival War.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. :mad:

I don't think there will be one nation that is the ONLY world power. I think it will just balance out more between the United States, the EU, China, India, Russia, and possibly Japan. China and India have too much discrepancies in their society to truly make it as a world power. The rising middle class you see today in both countries are mere fractions of their entire population. Until they can repair this huge gap, then you can't really classify them as world power.
 
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