I wonder about correlation vs causation. Before the internet existed, many people recognized that America was a declining empire. Advisors to presidents recomme

I wonder about correlation vs causation. Before the internet existed, many people recognized that America was a declining empire. Advisors to presidents recommended bad courses of action - like aligning ourselves with the rising empire of China - which have only accelerated the decline. The internet is the reflecting pool that shows us what our age of decadence / Weimar republic / kali yuga looks like.