America’s Decline: The Twin Vices of Greed and Hubris
Throughout American history, periods of prosperity and global influence have often been followed by challenges that test the nation’s resilience. In recent decades, two particular forces have accelerated America’s relative decline on the world stage: unchecked greed and national hubris.
The pursuit of wealth at all costs has transformed America’s economic landscape. What once was a balanced system that created broad-based prosperity has evolved into one where financial gains increasingly flow to those already possessing vast resources. Corporate decision-making prioritizes short-term profits over sustainable growth, worker welfare, or environmental stewardship. This narrow focus on wealth accumulation has hollowed out once-thriving industrial communities and widened inequality to levels not seen since the Gilded Age.
Alongside this economic transformation, American hubris—the overconfident belief in national exceptionalism and invulnerability—has clouded strategic thinking. Following the Cold War, America’s unipolar moment bred complacency. Rather than thoughtfully managing its unprecedented power, America often assumed its systems and values would naturally prevail globally. This overconfidence led to military overextension, diplomatic missteps, and a failure to invest in the foundations of long-term national strength: education, infrastructure, and scientific research.
The combination has proven particularly damaging. Greed undermined social cohesion and trust in institutions, while hubris prevented the honest self-assessment needed to correct course. Other nations, meanwhile, studied American strengths and weaknesses, adapting and advancing while America rested on its laurels.
America’s capacity for renewal remains one of its defining characteristics. However, addressing these twin vices requires honest acknowledgment of their role in the nation’s relative decline. Only by confronting both greed and hubris can America begin the difficult work of revitalization and rediscover the balanced approach to national advancement that once made it a beacon to the world.