The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

Goodbye America? Not yet
Manish Chand, Indo-Asian News Service
August 28, 2008
First Published: 18:21 IST(28/8/2008)
Last Updated: 18:38 IST(28/8/2008)

The Post-American World
Author: Fareed Zakaria;
Publisher: Penguin/Viking;
Price: Rs 499

Don't write an obituary of the American superpower yet. It's not that America is declining, but everyone else is rising - this is the "great story of our times" Fareed Zakaria tells in his new book that goes to the heart of tectonic power shifts to the non-Western world in the 21st century.

Take a few random examples, says Zakaria, of this "great transformation taking place around the world". The tallest building in the world is now in Taipei, the world's richest man is Mexican, its largest publicly traded corporation is Chinese, the biggest plane is built in Russia and Ukraine, the biggest refinery is under construction in India, and the world's largest factories are all in China.

What's more, Zakaria says, "quintessentially American icons have been appropriated by foreigners" with Singapore flaunting the world's largest Ferris wheel and Macau showing off the world's largest casino.

"The biggest movie industry, in terms of both movies made and tickets sold, is Bollywood, not Hollywood. Of the top 10 malls in the world, only one is in the US; the world's biggest is in Beijing," he writes.

If all this gives the impression that "the most powerful country in the world since ancient Rome" is fading into the sunset, don't be gulled by appearances. In The Post-American World, Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International and one of the most influential commentators in Washington, tries to deflate the hype about the "rise of Asia" and pits it against hard facts about American power.

The US economy has averaged about 25 percent of global GDP for 130 years and will continue to do so; it's economy at $14 trillion is more than four times that of China; and nearly 14 times that of India. Its military spending is nearly equivalent to what the rest of the world spends on defence.

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