Slate ran a series of articles on how America could end. They noted the "withering away" of the British Empire but failed to recognise that the metropole itself continues to exist: a consideration of the difference between the hegemony and the country. The scenarios set out are accelerated global warming and take over Canada as a Hot America proves unable to deal with the natural disasters; disintegration of the North American nations under various local, economic and technological pressures: presented as interesting debates but the least likely of the futures; even less likely is totalitarianism, and its potential solution to the conflict between liberty and hegemony; last, but not unlikely, is a unifying glue, such as Mormonism, carrying the Anglosphere beyond the death of its nations.
With some help from Russian voters, the populace opted for Loose Nukes as the most likely option for the downfall of the United States. Certainly, the destruction of a US city by a nuclear weapon planted by terrorists would be transformative, and an un-America may result.
If scenarios are preferable, post-America is a better outcome than un-America. The civilisational heritage would continue, whereas in the alternative, its benefits would be sullied by a final outcome.
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