[dd74]

Hmmm...I won't say you're incorrect. The one thing that's changed since the historical times you've mentioned is that there are now nuclear weapons and a world economy. When I was an undergrad taking IR classes, it was determined with some validity that nukes were actually peacemakers. Go figure. The world economy - possibly that's another peacemaker.

So maybe it's through nuclear weapons and a vibrant world economy that we survive. But that's survival out of fear (nukes) and fear of loss (economy).

More so than a nuclear attack or a country like China taking over as a world economic leader, in the U.S. I think the loss of the middle class will eventually spell our demise/inability to survive.