Before the start of the demise of the British Empire in 1914 the question was asked of the UK (GB), can the UK outbuild German expansionism and, IMO, the same question can be asked of the USA except it is 'can the USA outbuild Chinese expansionism"?
In both Graham Allisons book "Destined For War" & Kevin Rudd's book "The Avoidable War" this question has been dodged but instead its opposite corollary has been probed: "Can the US stymie China's growth thereby containing China"
IMO, its an interesting twist....a kind of like an America's Cup strategy; if you can't out-sail him in clear winds, then take the wind out of his sails !
The US industrial military complex has served the US well, albeit at the expense of its taxpayers- for over a century , so why the defensive attitude now rather than the usual gung-ho attude, "we can outdo China....just you pick the sport"?
Perhaps the US post GFC ailing economy and its military capitulation in Afghanistan has alot to do with the "can do" US loss of self-confidence.
And of course like the stock market investors looking forward, the US military & Economic hawks always look forward too.
To an onlooker, for the US to take a decade to build a new aircraft carrier and over a decade to build 850 kms of high speed rail may have something to do with it when China is achieving both fetes in one third the time and one third the costs.
A cursory read of history tells us that it took two world wars within 40 years to knock over the British Empire.
The longer the US/China peace holds, the bigger challenge there is to the US to out-build China; not merely to take the wind out of China's sales, IMO.
The question is the US empire doomed to a fate similar to GB? Does History repeat itself or at least reproduce a fair facsimile ...eh?
