The Collapse of the USA

On the frontpage of the International Edition of The New York Times today, Wednesday November 20, 2024, the Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar claims:

The American election results were received with enthusiasm in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin, offering his congratulations, seemed genuinely pleased. But it’s not because Donald Trump is seen as a pro-Russian politician or even one of their own — those illusions faded long ago. Nor is it the prospect of an advantageous peace deal in Ukraine, ruthlessly brokered by Mr. Trump. The first reported call between the two leaders, which the Kremlin denies took place, suggests that the incoming administration will be no pushover.

Instead, the excitement comes from something else. It’s that to many in the Kremlin, a Trump presidency might bring about the collapse of the American state.

The idea that the United States is entering the final stage of its history has been kicking around Russia for some time. For years, it was confined to fringe voices. But since around 2020, figures from the Kremlin have been making the argument, too. Leading the charge was Nikolai Patrushev, a former director of the Federal Security Service and one of Mr. Putin’s key advisers. Widely regarded as Russia’s leading hard-liner, he was among the first to claim that America was on an inexorable path to implosion.

The idea that the United States is entering the final stage of its history has been kicking around Russia for some time. For years, it was confined to fringe voices. But since around 2020, figures from the Kremlin have been making the argument, too. Leading the charge was Nikolai Patrushev, a former director of the Federal Security Service and one of Mr. Putin’s key advisers. Widely regarded as Russia’s leading hard-liner, he was among the first to claim that America was on an inexorable path to implosion.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/opinion/putin-trump-russia-america.html 

This all may sound outrageous for Zygar, whose ideology is based on a neoliberal view of the world, and who apparently does not know that already since the end of the fifties prominent American intellectuals increasingly have been writing about the collapse of the USA. I have been mentioning this in my own publications and on my website the last two decades. There exists a long list of  American ‘dissidents’ of name and fame, starting with C. Wright Mills and Gore Vidal to Andrew J. Bacevich and George Kennan. So, I was quite surprised that, according to Zygar, in Russia this thought ‘was confined [for years] to fringe voices. But since around 2020, figures from the Kremlin have been making the argument, too.’ Quite late, but the Russian journalist does not supply arguments for this. Once more Zygar, who writes a weekly column on Russia and the war for Der Spiegel, and a column for The New York Times, both mainstream publications which many westerners don’t read anymore because they don’t trust NATO-propaganda of the commercial press. I would advise mr. Zigar and his remaining readers to read The Short American Century. A Postmortem, edited by professor Andrew J. Bacevich. The book consists a collection of first class essays, written by distinguished American academics, and published in 2012, the same year I wrote the book The Fall of the American Empire. I will return to this subject later on, now a nuclear war is made a step nearer thanks to the demented president Biden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQX-4giMzs