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The US already had all the power when people called it the leader of the free world, when people start using the word "bully," that signifies a major shift.

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It will result in a loss of power. Isolation is not a strengthening posture. You need allies to succeed over the long term. This looks like the beginning of the downfall of the United States from every measure.

I don't disagree. But then for most of the 7,000 years of recorded history, GDP (and all the might that wealth ensures) was strictly a function of population. It wasn't until European colonialism came in the 1400s and industrialization in the 1700s that guns, resource extraction, and productivity gains changed the game.

But WW2 ended colonialism and 90s globalization spread industrialization worldwide, leaving us all in the slow roll of reverting to the mean now. At the end of which, the ancient civilizations of China and India, with nearly 3 billion people between them, will return to global dominance.

Oh, I don't think it is the US as a whole that's meant to benefit from this coercive behavior. And it's not just the foreign policy. While Trump keeps pointing fingers at those "who are to blame for our problems" (transes stealing our children, biden stealing elections, immigrants stealing jobs and welfare, Ukrainians stealing aid) and the society stays divided on these issues, plenty of opportunities for business (extortion) arise for himself and his buddies, especially now that his hands are not tied by anything. This strategy worked wonders for another narcissist bully thug named Putin. That's basically divide and conquer.

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