Last week one of my professors asked our class who thought America was in decline as a world power. Most of the hands in the room shot up instantly. Mine wasn'€™t one of them.
I will readily concede that lately, between the debacle in Iraq, the general incompetence of President Bush, and the rise of China, India and the European Union, America'€™s geopolitical hegemony has decreased a bit over the past seven years. However, any loss of geopolitical dominance is more than compensated for by the near-monopoly America has on the world when it comes to cultural hegemony.
Recently I was in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, where beer is still served after breakfast and many people dress as their fathers and grandfathers have for generations. But even in Munich, America and her cultural icons were everywhere. Riding in on the train from the airport, I saw billboards at nearly every stop for Burger King'€™s new Barbeque Whopper, and everywhere were advertisements for "€œThe Bourne Ultimatum,"€ which had just come out in Germany. And this was just on the trip into the city.
Around Munich, between old churches, beer halls and traditional German attractions like the Glockenspiel, American soft power is in full force. There is a massive Tommy Hilfiger billboard on a church, and American shops like Bose, American Apparel, and Quiksilver have locations right in heart of the city.
Munich is just like so many other cities around the world. The familiar red logo of Atlanta’s own Coca-Cola is everywhere. People walk down the streets sipping their Starbucks’ latte while listening to American music on their iPods. The menu board in a German Starbucks is in English, not German. Munich even boasts two Wal-Marts.
Did you know that there are over 3,500 Starbucks outside of the United States? In China, Kentucky Fried Chicken is massively popular, with more than 1,800 locations. There are McDonald’s in 119 countries. Subway has over 5,000 international locations, each wallpapered with the same images of the New York City subway.
American popular culture is also extremely prevalent overseas. MTV has channels around the world. Many Germans currently love American rock and roll from the 1960s and €˜70s, and television shows from the €˜80s. Current American television shows are being broadcast around the world, further spreading our culture.
If you think of the countries that are rising powers, theoretically at the expense of the dominance of the United States, how much of an effect do they have on our culture? Do our hardcourt stars go to play in the Chinese Basketball Association? Are we listening to Chinese pop music?
India'€™s Bollywood films have a niche audience here, but nothing even close to the popularity of the movies produced in its California namesake. These rising powers just do not have the same cultural power as the United States.
They don'€™t have the same political, economic, or military power either. All throughout the 20th century we heard that America was falling as a power and would be replaced. Germany, military Japan, the Soviet Union, Red China, economic Japan and now rising powers China and India have all at one point or another been mentioned as contenders for America'€™s spot as hegemon.
But now, China has severe issues -- terrible environmental policies and growing social unrest -- that could prevent growth. India is gaining wealth, but that wealth remains very concentrated. Meanwhile, the educated middle class is demanding raises, which makes India less competitive globally.
I'€™m not convinced our nation is a falling power in any aspect. America’s soft power has the ability to reach where its political, economic and military power can’t. And these should continue to make the United States the most powerful nation in the world for the foreseeable future.
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