Who will be the next world power?

That's a misnomer. Yes, the # of federal, state and municipal laws and regulations have increased in the US but the scope and quality of civil freedoms have increased dramatically as well.Back at the founding of this country and for nearly 150 years thereafter only white males with some type of land holdings were able to vote in local and federal elections. African Americans were enslaved. Women were subservient to men. Handicap people if they were lucky to survive their childhoods were placed into asylums and scorned by there communities. Homosexuals were, well I can't really go there, but were treated as bad if not worse than other minorities. KKK and other hate-filled groups and individuals were free to terrorize African Americans and any non-WASPS and at one point included about 15% of the countries WASP population in the 1920's. Need I go on?

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
Dr. Carl Sagan

I believe the next world power is China. Trust me, China has become a serious global competitor to the US both financially and militarily. Though there are some economic incentives to keep China from directly challenging us outright militarily. However I do believe we are on the verge of a China/US cold/finanical war. This could all turn on the dime if China convinces the world to switch global currency from the dollar to the an internationally neutral currency, the Special Drawing Right (SDR) created by the IMF. Just my thoughts.Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : No reason given.

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
Dr. Carl Sagan

India could become a serious world power. However, India is our ally. India will not challenge us militarily or politcally. Neither do I see them ever teaming up with China as they are idealogically opposed.

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
Dr. Carl Sagan

India is a democratic government. China is governed by a comunist regime. The two do not make for mutually condusive relationships.There are a lot of ifs, maybes and speculation. Russia could reserge. China's economy could collapse. Brazil could find a substantial source of oil that rivals the middle east and become a major world power, etc, etc ad infinitim. Anything can happen in the long distance future. Why because there are too many variables which could have long term ramifications further down the road.If 3 years ago we could not even predict the global economic recession that would occur in 2008 and 2009, what makes us think we can predict long term historical events 20, 50 or 100 years out? If you want an interesting read about the unpredictability of predicting future events read Asimov's foundation series.

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
Dr. Carl Sagan