The USA is weird. Granted, the whole of North America and western Europe is WEIRD (i.e. western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic) and hence atypical of humanity in general; but America is really weird.
The westernmost nation of the West has its most prestigious universities, its most advanced industries, its richest rich people and its most expensive democracy. In most things, the US is just like the rest of us, only more so. For instance, while most western democracies have their disruptive populist politicians, America is thus far unique in electing one to the top job.
Unsurprisingly, to have a man like Trump as President has led to a degree of national self-doubt. Google the words ‘America’ and ‘failed state’ you’ll find respectable publications giving serious consideration as to whether the US qualifies.
In a post on Eudaimonia and Co, Umair Haque takes issue with the declinists – arguing that their accounts don’t go nearly far enough:
“…whatever ‘numbers’ we use to represent decline — shrinking real incomes, inequality, and so on—we are in fact grossly underestimating what pundits call the ‘human toll’, but which sensible human beings like you and I should simply think of as the overwhelming despair, rage, and anxiety of living in a collapsing society.”
He doesn’t pull his punches:
“When we take a hard look at US collapse, we see a number of social pathologies on the rise. Not just any kind. Not even troubling, worrying, and dangerous ones. But strange and bizarre ones. Unique ones. Singular and gruesomely weird ones I’ve never really seen before…”
He gives five examples. The first is truly horrifying – even if we have grown used to it:
“America has had 11 school shootings in the last 23 days. That’s one every other day, more or less. That statistic is alarming enough — but it is just a number. Perspective asks us for comparison. So let me put that another way. America has had 11 school shootings in the last 23 days, which is more than anywhere else in the world, even Afghanistan or Iraq…
“Why are American kids killing each other? Why doesn’t their society care enough to intervene?”
His second example is the opioid epidemic, which has a hydra-headed ability to produce monstrous new developments. Again, Haque sees it as “unique to American life”:
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