# Would a "concert of powers" strategy be better than "American hegemony"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-concert-of-powers-strategy-be-better-than-american-hegemony/405954>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 29, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-concert-of-powers-strategy-be-better-than-american-hegemony/405954 "2007-05-29T18:08:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-concert-of-powers-strategy-be-better-than-american-hegemony/405954/81 "2007-06-07T18:26:32Z")

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> [@Kimstu](#):
>
> As I thought I already made quite clear, I don’t believe that.

But here you said we were doing it now -

> [@](#):
>
> …our current budget is severely out of whack, with massive deficits and a crippling debt service burden predicted on all sides (even by the Administration itself) within the next few decades if we go on as we are. So the current fiscal policy is clearly not sustainable. And I have yet to see any plausible scenario that suggests we are likely to get ourselves out of that fiscal hole with zero negative impact on the military spending that we consider necessary to maintain our current position of sole global military hegemon.

I think I am going to have to assume that I have argued you out of your position into something more reasonable without you knowing it.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-concert-of-powers-strategy-be-better-than-american-hegemony/405954/82 "2007-06-07T18:35:17Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> But here you said we were doing it now -

How you figure? What you just quoted is not at all the same thing that you claimed to think I believed in your previous post.

> [@Shodan](#):
>
> I think I am going to have to assume that I have argued you out of your position into something more reasonable without you knowing it.

Well, that would be quite in keeping with your record of making unsupported and illogical assumptions in this thread. In actual fact, though, the basic claim I’ve been making—to wit, that it’s not plausible that the US will continue indefinitely to maintain its current sole-global-military-hegemon status—has been exactly the same all along. It just seems to have taken you a hell of a time to understand it.

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-concert-of-powers-strategy-be-better-than-american-hegemony/405954/83 "2007-06-07T18:47:01Z")

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[QUOTE=ralph124c]  
I think its all a moot point-the USA is LOSING its taste for empire.  
[/QUOTE]

The **people** are, perhaps. Makes no difference if our ruling class still wants it. (We get to vote, but they get to limit our range of choices.)

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