When you project your political and military power around the world, you're an empire. Today we have permanent troops stationed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. We're the string puller in NATO and the UN, as well as the WTO and the World Bank. America is immensely successful internationally. But China, India and Russia all want a piece of that pie, not to mention the EU. Mercantilistic foreign policy and a growing socialism at home will put pressures on us quickly. China may not be ready to be the world's economic and military leader, but they are positioning for that stake, and the current military over-extension and economic troubles could be an early "in" for them. The fundamentals of a successful market don't change.