How Decline Moves an Empire: Nationalism and The Cost of Imperial Privilege
In this video essay I talk about both meanings of ‘America in decline’. First I discuss decline in the literal sense, is the U.S. on the decline as a global superpower, economically, militarily and when it comes to soft power influence, as well as decline in the rhetorical sense.
Declinism in this sense refers to a rhetorical political device which is used to rally voters by inciting nationalism and love for one’s country by framing it as being on some sort of imminent collapse.
Either into fascism when it comes to the left, or into liberalism when used on the right - hence slogans like ‘make america great again’ or ‘america first’.
Lastly, I talk about how declinism and this fear of becoming ‘number 2’ on the world stage is ingrained into the American zeitgeist and psyche through literature and film, which frame the U.S. as its own worst enemy, and how that’s romanticized and poetic, but also scarily prophetic.
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Timestamps:
Intro 0:00
Part 1: Is the U.S. actually declining? 3:29
Part 2: Declinism in Politics: What is it and How is it Used 15:28
Part 3: The Romanticization of Declinism as Part of the “American Identity” 20:59
Conclusion 25:36
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Patreon: / cheyennelin
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Music:
Far Behind · Silent Partner
• Far Behind