[Tim7332]

If American hegemony depends on the control of the final peak oil countries(iraq, saudi arabia etc).

What economic happenings will take place when the rest of the world has to come to us for oil for 50 or so years before its all gone? Will we be able to provent major powers from colliding over the oil and in so starting a world war 3? I think America should almost take it as her duty to control the last peak oil countries, otherwise more dangerous nations will grow strength from it.

Futhermore, how can we prepare for the switch from an oil ecnonomy to a hydrogen one. Knowing that we will lose this powerful bargainaning tool once the rest of the world can get energy elsewhere?

How can we trickle out oil just enough to satisfy world growth but not let China gorge herself on oil, resulting in more ambitious foreign policy at the expense of American interests and current American domination of the global economy.

[Tim7332]

Anybody have any ideas on how we can grow "market share" in the global economy once countries don't need us anymore? It seems like the most America can bring to the global marketplace is "Austin Powers" and "britney spears". Crap you can download on the computer these days in China, if you even want it.

[azreal60]

Why do you think we where so pissed we sent all our manufactoring over to other countrys? Why do you think people are worried about peak oil ending globalization. Of all the countrys in the world, the US changed the most to reflect globalization. I would say that gives us the most to lose.

[venky]

Who is the US to complain about China gorging itself on oil when itself consumes more than three times as much and almost 30 times as much per capita?

Frankly, I would be very uneasy if the the remaining oil producing countries come under US control as would the rest of the world; I certainly would not trust the US to oversee an equitable distribution of oil around the world. I think that would be as good a trigger as any for starting a war over oil resources

[evilgenius]

Since America abhors socialism it has no national healthcare system and it has no transit infrastructure. Its buildings are energy inefficient because its people like to flaunt their wealth. Its vehicles are too big because its people are confused about safety and like to bully instead of perceive themselves as being bullied. The best thing that America can do to fix this going forward is to somehow introduce the idea into society that keeping up with the Joneses means being the most efficient and cooperative. It wouldn't hurt for Americans to understand that socialism is not communism, but that might be too much to expect.

Without some profound changes at home America won't be able to compete in the world of the future. Its ideas about conservation need to improve so that its capital is not soaked up by waste.

[RdSnt]

The United States is dead. The current problem is that the corpse is so large it's stinking up the whole planet. The US has become irrelevant to the future and those who are planning on continuing into the future are simply going to step over the carcass.

[hoplite]

Would you prefer Chinese hegemony? Because thats the only alternative you know...

Mebbe the CHinese will be benevolent hegemonists?

[KingM]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RdSnt', 'T')he United States is dead. The current problem is that the corpse is so large it's stinking up the whole planet. The US has become irrelevant to the future and those who are planning on continuing into the future are simply going to step over the carcass.

[sameu]

the american domination is coming to an end soon if you ask me
when the dollar falls it will be game over

[evilgenius]

Dude, the US wants the dollar to fall. They need inflation to rear its ugly head or they will have a problem with the scale of debt they have to carry. There aren't enough years ahead in the crisis to pay off the monies they know they are going to have to borrow. It's a cash flow situation.

What's really going to fall in the US is the middle class. The Middle class hasn't gotten a true raise since the seventies and still they would rather work at WalMart than pay union dues. Suckers, I guess, but poor suffering suckers at that.

[RdSnt]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KingM', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RdSnt', 'T')he United States is dead. The current problem is that the corpse is so large it's stinking up the whole planet. The US has become irrelevant to the future and those who are planning on continuing into the future are simply going to step over the carcass.

[HonestPessimist]

If the USA goes down, the USA will take the world down with it. Falling alone is too bittersweet.

You like that?

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HonestPessimist', 'I')f the USA goes down, the USA will take the world down with it. Falling alone is too bittersweet.

[HonestPessimist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HonestPessimist', 'I')f the USA goes down, the USA will take the world down with it. Falling alone is too bittersweet.

[Kingcoal]

What a lot of people on this site don't understand is that the current world economy is the way it is simply because the nations that participate in it want it the way it is. The US is the "great customer" employing millions around the world to produce products for it. These producer nations need to keep their people employed so they take steps to make sure that America can keep buying their products.

America hasn't fallen yet simply because China, Japan, India and the rest of the worlds big producers have been making sure it doesn't. Even Canada and the EU depend on the US buying their products.

The US really doesn't care what these countries do as long as they stay only in the comerical realm. When countries start making weapons of mass destruction, the US has a problem because it has a monopoly in that business.

[evilgenius]

Sameu brought up the fall of the dollar. What do you guys think about the sale of oil in Euro's? I can see the Federal Reserve not really able to decide what to do if oil for Euro's takes off. Right now demand for US dollars is still very high because you can only buy oil with dollars. The Fed has been able to finance US debt at a substantial interest rate discount because of oil demand for dollars.

Lots of short sighted business export bubble types want the dollar to fall hard. They will pressure the Fed to keep rates the same or even lower them in the face of oil shortages. The story would be one of more dollars available to chase barrels of oil. As a consequence more dollars would channel through international commerce thus reflecting on the corporate managers and their wealthy overlords.

Another group of nationalists will want the Fed to tighten hard thus boosting the demand for the dollar because of attractive interest rates. The Fed tends to care very little about the state of the little guy in the economy. Tightening would ultimately be a move to preserve fixed asset wealth. The kind of wealth that some mega-rich but mostly little people are invested in. Rich people's assets tend to rise in assigned value as more dollars are needed to assign value. The banking sector, however, could take one hell of a hit without significant tightening.

Either way I see one hell of a transfer of real estate to the wealthy. Take either scenario to extremes and money will pack into real estate. The housing bubble will probably have killed the middle-class' ability to stay in it as a group. Take away the inheritance tax and in twenty to thirty years ten thousand families could own ninety five percent of the US.

[Doly]

Let me see if I get you right: you are saying that the middle class in America could vitually disappear and the US would become a banana republic?

[HonestPessimist]

Take away the entire middle class in America, the lack of their buying power will have a collapsing effect that would ripple around the world in huge and uncomfortable consequences.

If you keep buying locally made products, it benefit the local/regional economy. If you keep buying locally made products and foreign-made goods, it benefit the the local/regional economy and the global economy.

I buy groceries that are made locally but I need a nice-looking shelf insert to hold some of the non-refrigerated foods. So I look around and find a very nice-looking Ikea kitchen shelf insert that was made in Sweden. I purchase it and someone in Ikea in Sweden who made it stay happily employed.

Get the general idea? Read on.

Take away the entire middle class and their vast buying power in America, it's bye-bye for the whole world, including Ikea laying off some of its employees because there aren't that many Americans (other than Europeans) buying their products.

[elroy]

If the dollar falls, our economy will feel the hit. Tons of companies doing business with dollars involved at some point. Also a high euro would seriously hurt export.