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Comment by gumballindie | Hacker News Reader

I dont know if you are serious or not, but i am thinking about it more than i should. I keep dreaming of a united western world equal in scope and power. Right now it seems like the US is the only country that gets anywhere near the empire’s might but would be great to simply do what should be done and unite all aligned nations in a way that also respects diversity among cultures and ways of doing things. Free europe is already dependant on the US for security and the natural path is to get even closer.

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"The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonial power, and regional expansion."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Romana

"Pax Americana is a term applied to the concept of relative peace in the Western Hemisphere and later in the world after the end of World War II in 1945, when the United States became the world's dominant economic, cultural, and military power."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Americana

The US global leadership role was severely tarnished after its catastrophic war on Vietnam. And just when it seemed the country might recover its leadership role, it launched an even more catastrophic war on Iraq.

The consequences of the Iraq quagmire on US domestic politics, economic and military strength, global flows of migrants and global reputation continue to reverberate.

If this is the end of Pax Americana, it's anyone's guess what comes next.

Men who think about the Roman Empire at least once a week are fond of drawing parallels with what happened after the end of Pax Romana and what might be next for a leaderless world.

The blog author actually has an article somewhat related to your thoughts - https://acoup.blog/2023/07/07/collections-the-status-quo-coa...

I’ll have to reread it but this conclusion:

“As a result, I don’t think the coalition is likely to go away.”

Makes me particularly happy. There are a few things I dont like about the us and the west in general - one being an excessive reliance on corporations and a diminishing small business culture, one that risks damaging the very freedoms we enjoy - but otherwise I think we are pretty much doing the right thing. A bit more alignment wouldnt hurt either. The benefits pax americana have brought are simply incredibly beneficial to the free world - without the us there wouldnt be much free world to talk about anyway.

I think it’s in the interest of all free countries to protect america in return as that project is by far the greatest achievement so far in terms of nation building. More unity means we will also be able to start looking beyond our planet as that will require the force that only we as one can provide.

Of course I am serious. How can you not be fascinated by the Roman Empire from the tiny village origins to the eventual collapse. There’s so much history and innovation that no other culture was able to offer.

Western Europe, EU/NATO countries, have the wealth and technology to lead the World without USA help.

Western europe and the eu on their own are precisely irrelevant.

The wealth and the technology, perhaps. The political will and unity? I doubt it. EU is still in a pre-Federation stage, similar to the USA during the Articles of Confederation. (Also, NATO does include the US.)

EU will remain in "pre-Federation" stage for centuries, since, unlike USA it is composed of many nations, with language barriers, and historical grudges against each other. It might become temporarily united by force (that's what EU Commission, and Germany are trying to do right now), but that won't last even a decade.

While they lacked language barriers, the differences in who founded the original colonies led to large cultural differences that could be considered nation defining. This was amplified by available resources and extraction strategies and eventually contributed to the civil war.

The differences within the EU are certainly much broader, but power draws power, and I wouldn't count out a much more centralized EU in the future, even if that is not beneficial for or desired by any of its members.

Last century was defined by east europe and the us. I fail to see how western europe, which collapsed at its first war with a significant power, could amount to anything on its own. Germany alone erased most countries in a matter of years and after that germany itself was split between america and britain on one side and east europe on the other. Western europe can win wars against peaceful or backwards countries, not against serious military powers. Even the war in ukraine shows that continental western europe has significant gaps in terms of defense technology. It can print money but it surely cant extract the wealth that matters - resources and energy. Where are holland or germany going to get the oil and metal needed to build tanks in case of war at their borders? There’s no amount of arrogance and self flattery to compensate, and money burn faster than bullets.

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