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>decline of the United States' image since the turn of the century. That seems to be almost universally accepted among American intelligentsia. But as a guy fr

>decline of the United States' image since the turn of the century. That seems to be almost universally accepted among American intelligentsia. But as a guy from outside of US, I dare to say it's false, and also built on a false premise. USA as a culture, or as a political power was never especially popular, except for a few particular places. But as an economuc destination it has been since at least the beginning of XX century, and continues to be so. In Russia it is for example a recognized phenomenon - openly anti-US people who would take any opportunity to move across the ocean, and settle there for economic opportunities, simultaneously writing blogs in Russian making fun of the States, and praising mother-Russia from distance. Obviously, for them "image" was never cool, but they are willing to relocate anyway. I'm sure the same exists everywhere. EU, and Canada are popular too, but much less so, and at least in non-EU Eastern Europe + Russia economic migration to the European Union prevails simply because it's cheaper, and practically easier.

filleduchaos 6y ago
What gives you the idea that I'm American? > But as a guy from outside of US, I dare to say it's false, and also built on a false premise As someone who is also not from the US, I dare to say you've entirely misunderstood what I meant. "Image" there is not referring to agreeability or popularity, it's referring to the near-monopoly on global consciousness as the paragon of the successful West which the US held through the latter half of the 20th century - that's what I'm asserting has been slipping over the past couple of decades (more so in the past eight or so years). The US still an economic powerhouse, but other economic powerhouses have muscled their way onto the stage (largely China, but also the European Union). It's still a financial powerhouse, but there's also plenty of opportunity and business partnerships to be found elsewhere (and it's becoming less and less necessary to actually migrate to the US to take advantage of its wealth). It's still a cultural powerhouse, but others have achieved incredible international popularity as well (just look at the near mind-boggling spread of Korean pop culture across the globe, for example). Countries like the aforementioned Canada offer a much faster, cleaner track to citizenship, and even places like the UAE and some parts of Eastern Europe or Oceania have their appeal for someone simply looking to improve their passport. Of course, there are also factors like the highly polarised political climate and the inadequacies of the healthcare system that make it less than desirable for someone that doesn't like drama or that has health conditions they need to worry about. In summary there are so many other options for relocation, many of which are now objectively better for a given individual, that the US is quickly becoming "just another country" for plenty of people opportunity-wise.
- brokenkebab 6y ago
  I made zero assumptions about you personally. I mentioned that it became a cliche in some circles. >there are so many other options for relocation, many of which are now objectively better for a given individual, Not so many options unless you are very rich, or your skills are in high demand globally. Which is not typical. In most cases migration works like buying houses: I'd like to have a verandah with ocean view, but there are permissions, and there's price I can afford. US is very on top of the list, but in many countries it's complicated/expensive to get there. It has nothing to do with image, or current political state of affairs in the US, or in general what is in the news.

filleduchaos 6y ago

What gives you the idea that I'm American? > But as a guy from outside of US, I dare to say it's false, and also built on a false premise As someone who is also not from the US, I dare to say you've entirely misunderstood what I meant. "Image" there is not referring to agreeability or popularity, it's referring to the near-monopoly on global consciousness as the paragon of the successful West which the US held through the latter half of the 20th century - that's what I'm asserting has been slipping over the past couple of decades (more so in the past eight or so years). The US still an economic powerhouse, but other economic powerhouses have muscled their way onto the stage (largely China, but also the European Union). It's still a financial powerhouse, but there's also plenty of opportunity and business partnerships to be found elsewhere (and it's becoming less and less necessary to actually migrate to the US to take advantage of its wealth). It's still a cultural powerhouse, but others have achieved incredible international popularity as well (just look at the near mind-boggling spread of Korean pop culture across the globe, for example). Countries like the aforementioned Canada offer a much faster, cleaner track to citizenship, and even places like the UAE and some parts of Eastern Europe or Oceania have their appeal for someone simply looking to improve their passport. Of course, there are also factors like the highly polarised political climate and the inadequacies of the healthcare system that make it less than desirable for someone that doesn't like drama or that has health conditions they need to worry about. In summary there are so many other options for relocation, many of which are now objectively better for a given individual, that the US is quickly becoming "just another country" for plenty of people opportunity-wise.

brokenkebab 6y ago
I made zero assumptions about you personally. I mentioned that it became a cliche in some circles. >there are so many other options for relocation, many of which are now objectively better for a given individual, Not so many options unless you are very rich, or your skills are in high demand globally. Which is not typical. In most cases migration works like buying houses: I'd like to have a verandah with ocean view, but there are permissions, and there's price I can afford. US is very on top of the list, but in many countries it's complicated/expensive to get there. It has nothing to do with image, or current political state of affairs in the US, or in general what is in the news.