[grandalf]

The strategic decline of the US relative to China and Russia over the past few decades has been due mainly to the massive cost of the American bureaucratic state. Both nations spend pennies on the dollar and cause our hawks to bluster embarrassingly as they flush our prosperity down the drain.

At least in the case of Russia, this was the objective from day one. The US is strategically weaker today (in terms of alliances, power projection, public support for wars and ability to handle multiple fronts) than it has been at any time since achieving superpower status.

We've seen a massive slide toward authoritarianism over the past few decades as well, with an emphasis on "us vs them" beliefs and other childish mental habits that have become mainstream.