America Next: End of the World As We Knew It
![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/steve_clemons/assets_c/2011/08/27world.3-450_3-thumb-350x294-60463.jpg)
In the case of the United States — which has been indisputably the reigning global superpower for six decades — there are signs — ranging from the tumult in the Middle East to a humiliating war in Afghanistan to a downgrade of US sovereign debt — that America is at a key inflection point in…