The United States of America, once envisioned as a superpower, is unraveling today under the weight of its own contradictions.
Having said that, the matter of America’s unraveling needs a much deeper level of analysis.
A Militarized Society
The United States of America is a thoroughly militarized society. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the US constitution. Today, there are more guns in people’s homes than the entire population of the country. At a psychological level, this is clearly indicative of the fact that American society lives in a state of paranoia-the fear of the imaginary ‘other’.
The militarization of American society is reflective of the fact that America is a war oriented economy. It thrives on global conflicts. In conflict zones like Gaza, the Americans are profiteering off of people’s lives. Billions of dollars worth of military sales to Israel are filling up the coffers of the American war makers even as innocent men, women, and children are dying on the streets, day in and day out.
Political Polarization
Amartya Sen, the renowned Indian economist and social philosopher, in his book The Argumentative Indian, went on to highlight that the basic aim of politics is to debate important issues in order to forge a consensus that can help in attaining the ultimate goal – truth.
But in the United States, it appears that politics has become one of the chief sources of polarization. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and the founder of the political cum advocacy group Turning Point USA, has put the United States on edge. President Donald Trump’s remark that the attack was an act perpetrated by the “radical left” is a clear testimony as to how the quality of political discourse in the United States has nosedived.
But the malaise goes much deeper. It is not just the major political parties or the state’s institutions, but common people are increasingly divided not only on the issue of political matters but also on the basic issue of gender.
This political polarization has manifested itself in the resurgence of white nationalism. Trump’s core vote base, i.e., the Make America Great Again (MAGA), constitutes the epitome of this polarization. It has resulted in the creation of the ‘other’-the hardworking, non-political ordinary immigrants who eke out a living the honest way while contributing to the development of the American economy.
Unfortunately, the WASP, or the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, constituents of the MAGA movement feel that because the previous left liberal administrations outsourced manufacturing jobs and in-sourced labor, the immigrants are to be blamed. In the process, the immigrants are alleged to be taking away the jobs of ordinary Americans; as a result, they need to be expelled. Nativism, rooted in xenophobia, is directed at them, reminding them that they are not welcome.
Decline in Global Power
The mercurial style of the Trump administration has made it globally unpopular. Global economic growth has been upended by tariff diplomacy, with almost every country in the world feeling the negative externality emanating from America’s misplaced policies. Today, even the staunchest of US allies, like South Korea, Japan, and the EU, are becoming increasingly wary of the USA’s commitments and actions. Further, the routine nature of threats the incumbent American administration issues against countries like Brazil, India, and China isn’t spreading American hegemony; it is undermining it.
To make matters worse, the United States has turned its back on the global fight against climate change. Not only has Trump rescinded major decisions of the Biden administration on fighting this existential crisis, but his administration has also issued executive orders to increase the production of fossil fuels, represented in his “Drill, Baby, Drill” remark.
Such reckless attitude flies in the face of the global scientific consensus that fossil fuels need to be gradually phased down and replaced with renewable and cleaner sources of energy to not only protect ourselves but also Mother Earth.
In conclusion, it can be argued that the America of today is reeling under the weight of its own contradictions. Therefore, it is time the countries of the Global South work diligently to develop a robust, inclusive, and egalitarian non-Western world order anchored in multilateralism and multi-alignment.
Pranay Kumar Shome, a research analyst who is a PhD candidate at Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India
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