Who will the next world power be?

The 20th centaury was the USA’s; they became a world power through a combination of cheap labour, mass production and economic superiority after the fallout from WW2.

Now everybody knows that nothing lasts forever, and the downturn in the US's fortunes could already have started. Falling deeper into debt to fund its wars, losing its economic and productive edge to the Far Eastern powerhouses and the increasing nuclear proliferation of other countries all mean the US is losing its edge.

So who's up next in the world power stakes? My money is on China or India as an outside bet.

 

China... or maybe Korea.

 

China - Based on the growth..
No terror people are let go..

 

I can't see Korea (North?) getting there, they don't have the manpower, and having a mentalist in charge doesn't help.

China seem to be gradually turning their back on Communism and embraceing capitalism. It's only a matter of time before they overtake the US economically.

 

China i think..

 

The European Union -- a truly united Europe will be the stiffest challenge to everyone including the USA and China.

 

I disagree. Just disagree.

 

The real challenge there would be for Europe to unite in the first place. I just can't see it happening. The Euro is overtaking the dollar though. If the UK started using it also, with London as the financial capital of the world then people would start quoting euro prices rather than dollar ammounts.

 

Europe will unite if its very existence is threatened. The US will be too busy to intervene and China will simply not care. So, it will be up to the European community to defend and uphold its interests.

 

That could happen in the event someone like Russia challenges them. There aren't many countries that would be able to put themselves in that position though.

 

China for sure.

By 2050, China is expected to be a 75% larger economy than US and India is expected to be the same size as US.

Source.

 

Nice article Sachin, that makes a good read

 

Im seeing China's communist fabric collapsing over time and when that happens their economy will also collapse.
Looks like its India all the way then...

 

Communism is a stronghold in China right now, how you see it collapsing??

 

Russia is the powerhouse because they won the chess game with Cheney over Iraq, Putin has benefited because of world record oil prices caused by the ill advised invasion of Iraq.

I was watching a show Martha Stewart did when she took a tour of Moscow with a Vodka Barron, she reported that there are more millionaires in Moscow and more luxury cars sold there than any place in the world.

Balance of payments figures also prove this with Russia at the top and the USA at the bottom.

 

It's China's slow move away from Communism that makes it work. Anything close to the kind of staps we saw in Russia would mean the same results we saw over there.

Anyone that describes China as a communist state nowadays doesn't know what Communism is.

 

General thought are China, but i think America will maintain its position as world power, cause America got technology and china is making copies, isnt it?

 

China is politically communist and economically capitalist. .

The only problem with China is that it is relies a lot on exports to drive its economy. Any slowdown in US/European economies will have an amplified effect on China's economy.

China financial boom has been driven by cheap labour. Thus most of the benefits of growth have grown to industrialists and businessmen. Cheap labour means not much money passes into the hands of workers.

India also faces the same problem, but to a much lesser degree. India's growth in last few years has had a big contribution from the services sector. Workers in service industries are paid much better here. Compared to China. labor rates are also not exactly cheap in India. This has created a strong middle class in India, which in itself can propel the economy.

 

Thats a decade old link..lol

Yeah, I agree..
These are many things hidden behind the curtain in China. But do you feel that Chinese economy is going to crash anytime soon?

 

Doubtful that America will stay the major power, their economy will collapse over time, as predicted by analytics(If they will not change their way of doing things IMHO). And China has most powerful economy by now.
And i think if it's no economy, then it's no power.