"Nation states" as we preceive them do only exist for a few hundred years, at best. Before them, people didnt think in terms of "nation".For most of history we had kingdoms, empires, commonwealths, mostly run by a single person/rulre or a very small group. They considered their realm to be "theirs". The population was just an asset.
The "collapse", of the (western) Roman Empire lasted.....100y or 200y, at best. When you look at current events, they might seem to be spanning long times, mostly because one perceive their own lifetimes as "long". The truth is, back then empires both faded away slowly, and suddenly collapsed. In a wider historical context, few "modern" countries last particularly long and "collapsed" quite quickly. We are living in very turbulent times in general. In this context the USA is at the beginning of being more than just a blink in history. Truth be told, matters also depend a bit on the impact a nation or empire has had. The mongols and Alexander for example were extremely short lived* bu thad impact due to the sudden, "worldwide" and decisive impact they had. The Roman and Byzantine Empire were extremely long lived and only gradually grew and faded.
Weakness of the US constitution:
It is not weaker or stronger than many other constitutions. No constitution can be "fool proof". Thats not the issue. I have said it many times: The problem of the US constitution is twofold:
Significant parts of the institutions that hold legally, and de facto, power have conspired to undermine work against the constitution.
A significant part of the population either is ok with it, does not care or is operating under the delusion that in four years everything will be "back to normal" (the second and third group may overlap).
Role of capitalism:
We may witness the unfolding of historical proof that capitalist economies, based on a minimum of regulation, on a maximum of "freedom" (and thus influence by the rich and powerful) actually have less of a halftime (= less stable) than pluralist nations with a social security, because in the long run, people of the latter are more likely to identify with their country and oppose to what has happened in the US before it can happen. The future will tell.
*even if you include the successor states!
The "collapse", of the (western) Roman Empire lasted.....100y or 200y, at best. When you look at current events, they might seem to be spanning long times, mostly because one perceive their own lifetimes as "long". The truth is, back then empires both faded away slowly, and suddenly collapsed. In a wider historical context, few "modern" countries last particularly long and "collapsed" quite quickly. We are living in very turbulent times in general. In this context the USA is at the beginning of being more than just a blink in history. Truth be told, matters also depend a bit on the impact a nation or empire has had. The mongols and Alexander for example were extremely short lived* bu thad impact due to the sudden, "worldwide" and decisive impact they had. The Roman and Byzantine Empire were extremely long lived and only gradually grew and faded.
Weakness of the US constitution:
It is not weaker or stronger than many other constitutions. No constitution can be "fool proof". Thats not the issue. I have said it many times: The problem of the US constitution is twofold:
Significant parts of the institutions that hold legally, and de facto, power have conspired to undermine work against the constitution.
A significant part of the population either is ok with it, does not care or is operating under the delusion that in four years everything will be "back to normal" (the second and third group may overlap).
Role of capitalism:
We may witness the unfolding of historical proof that capitalist economies, based on a minimum of regulation, on a maximum of "freedom" (and thus influence by the rich and powerful) actually have less of a halftime (= less stable) than pluralist nations with a social security, because in the long run, people of the latter are more likely to identify with their country and oppose to what has happened in the US before it can happen. The future will tell.
*even if you include the successor states!
Cetero censeo religionem delendam esse
