It is not a straw man. OP was talking about the demise of the US. Demise compared to what? Seems China is the only "rising star" that can take a similar positio

It is not a straw man. OP was talking about the demise of the US. Demise compared to what? Seems China is the only "rising star" that can take a similar position. How are you going to measure the demise if not comparing to the closest thing to a peer? And I disagree too, and not focusing only on China: is there any other country, in the Earth, closer to true autarky, than the US? NOT saying the US is close. I'm asking: could any other country be as independent as the US of international relationships, including trading? Strong internal market, plenty of industry, plenty of new technologies and talent, plenty of resources, can feed itself, has clean water, access to 2 oceans, access to space, vast amounts of land, strong military with unparalleled projection...