Quote:
Originally posted by J'sdude@Feb 10 2004, 12:22 PM
You are not the world's only super power.
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Who else do you include as world superpowers? The Soviet Union disintegrated and as much as China will one day probably be a superpower I wouldn't consider them as such yet.
Consider the holy trinity of power; military, economic, and political.
China isn't even the largest economy in their region.
They play a small role on the international political stage - at least in comparison to the US. They are not even the dominant influential power in their region because of the Japanese/US relationship.
Can a nation that doesn't even have an aircraft carrier in the water yet be considered a military super power?
China faces incredible challenges just to continue their predicted rise to #2 or #3 economy in the world a generation from now. They not only have to deal with the likely internal political turmoil associated with much of their population desiring democracy but also potential threats from their immediate nearby neighbors (Japan, India, Russia, and Taiwan all of which have been the source of historical difficulties) and also what many communist nations have found to be unsustainable economic growth rates as the initial rise from forced urbanization and industrialization subsides (i.e. Russia). Oh yeah, and a massive population in a world of increasing communications serves up the possible threat of unrule.
There is only one superpower right now.