"Unless we really do figure out how to make empire pay on a grand scale, our standard of living must eventually come more into line with the rest of the world. Such an outcome is not necessarily tragic, both because the continual improvement of technology means that a relative decline doesn�t have to imply an absolute decline and because wealth simply isn�t the only measure of the well being of a nation. If the burden of a decline were equitably borne, paying down the trade imbalance wouldn�t have to unpleasant political consequences. Indeed, shared sacrifices can promote genuine unity in a country, something with which we�re completely unfamiliar after long decades of commercialized patriotism. It might also be a relief to have some goal in this life beyond the endless accumulation of things."

inanis et vacua Jul.14.04