Declinism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Declinism is the belief that a society or institution is tending towards decline. Particularly, it is the predisposition, due to cognitive bias, particulary rosy retrospection, to view the past favourably and future negatively.[1][2]
American Declinism[edit]
The United States of America in particular has a history of predicting its own downfall, beginning with European settlement.[3] So called American Declinism has been a recurring topic in US politics since the 1950s. Below is a list of Declinist literature:[4]
- Fareed Zakaria (2008). The Post American World. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393062359.
- Thomas L. Friedman; Michael Mandelbaum (2011). That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429995115.
- Edward Luce (2012). Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent. Grove Press. ISBN 9780802194619.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Etchells, Pete. "Declinism: is the world actually getting worse?". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ Steven R. Quartz, The State Of The World Isn’t Nearly As Bad As You Think, Edge Foundation, Inc., retrieved 2016-02-17
- ^ Funnell, Antony. "American Declinism: has collective fear finally become reality?". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ McCormick, Ty (8 Oct 2012). "Declinism Is America and Mitt Can Too". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
