The Myth of America in Decline

Josef Joffe, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, discussed the long tradition of American declinism in his talk entitled “The Myth of America in Decline.” His talk drew heavily from his recent book The Myth of America’s Decline: Politics, Economics, and a Half Century of False Prophecies, available from Amazon. Joffe began by outlining the historical trajectory of American declinism, beginning with the launch of Sputnik in the 1950s to modern-day China. He ended by presenting the case for why the United States is not over yet.