Must America Decline?

America's muscular response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait has temporarily stilled all talk of American decline. Yet the national alarm over the expense of Operation Desert Shield, the urgent demands for more help from U.S. allies, and the extraordinary enlistment of Soviet support at Helsinki are all reminders of how much the world has changed. While America's military strength remains much greater than that of its allies, its economic strength does not. No longer is the United States willing--or, many would say, able--to shoulder the world's burdens. Does this mean that it is on the same long, downward slope of history that earlier great powers have traveled? Is its decline only relative? Or has it actually emerged victorious from the trials of the postwar period? These are the questions that scholars, politicians, and others have been debating during the past few years. As the turn-of-the-century cartoon on this page suggests, the debate is not entirely new. Published after the Spanish-American War, just as the United States was taking its place on the world stage, the cartoon warned against assuming the burdens of empire. Today, the costs of U.S. commitments abroad are still the chief issue. Here, Richard Rosecrance reviews the recent debate. He fears that the United States is indeed slipping. But unlike the great powers of the past, Rosecrance believes, the United States has an opportunity to renew itself.