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Memories of the 28th Century

U. S. Politics After the End

Rating: 2 votes, 5.00 average.
11 Comments
by
PeterL
, 05-08-2013 at 08:08 PM (4429 Views)
The shape of government will change everywhere after the Great Pandemic will decrease population by 80%, and the politics involved with the governments will also change. Teasing apart the results of the changes is difficult, and it is likely that new elements will arise, but the general political culture of most countries would be unchanged, and that means that there will be cut-throat politics in the U.S. Just as one can read the political satires of Jonathan Swift from the early 18th centuries and see parallels with today's politics in the UK, there will be a huge amount of similarity between today's politics in the U.S. and what we will see after the Great Pandemic. But it is likely that some things will change. The issues probably will be different, but it will be a matter of who gets to profit from the government. The parties probably will have new names, or they might switch sides again. The Democrats derived from the Anti-Federalists, who were firmly opposed to a strong government, but they had become the party of the establishment by the time that the Republican Party arose, as a populist party that opposed the status quo, especially slavery.

In addition to the major parties we now have a large collection of minor parties, and one, or more, of those might present the right program to become important after the pandemic. While a highly regulated economy will be undesirable then, there may be a desire for a protectionist import policy, or there may an imperialist trend. There are good reasons for thinking that imperialism will be seen as desirable in some parts of the world. So the U.S. my have a big government – small government split that would be defined by positions in regard to Manifest Destiny. There are good reasons for the U.S.A. to take over Canada and Latin America, and those reasons will be more valid after the pandemic, and the population of Canada will between six and seven million (34 million now), so it would not be difficult to reverse that bit of bad luck of December 31, 1775. I am not necessarily advocating the conquest of Canada; I am mentioning it as a distinct possibility.

Any expansion to the south would be difficult, and there would be no real value it for the U.S.’ although it might be desirable for other reasons. The conquest of Mexico would be somewhat more difficult than conquering Canada. Mexico probably will have a population of between twenty and twenty-five million (probably toward the low end of that range). It would be more useful to eliminate any criminal gangs that might remain and to set up a government that would work reasonably well. Establishing U.S. control in South America would be much less likely, because Brazil would also be working at that. The economic value of combining the Americas would be considerable, but the cultural complications might be insuperable. Federation might be a practical answer, and it might be a step toward eventual world government. (Oh horror! Suggesting one world government!). Adding the Canadian provinces to the U.S. would be fairly easy, and the legal systems are not all that terribly different. Expanding beyond that would require making the Mexican economy stronger and less corrupted by crime. That would require a complete change in drug policy in the U.S. And in many other countries, and the cost of starting a new business would have to drop. These two steps would greatly improve the Mexican economy now, but they will become essential after the Pandemic.

Another issue in U.S. politics would be local versus central government. How that would play with regard to issues probably would vary with the region, and that support, or not, should be an economic issue, but there would be complications. For practical reasons it would be difficult for the Feds to intrude as much into local issues, because there wouldn’t be enough people to enforce the federal intrusions.

Issues regarding rebuilding the country’s credit rating and whether equality before the law would be enforced would be important internally and externally, but it would take considerable time for things to settle down...
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  1. cafolini's Avatar
    It is absolutely obvious that capitalism has won the battle and that USA is the biggest capitalist empire that ever came to be. This empire will no fall because it defends and protects human rights. All other empires in history were offensive and kept the people from evolving each at their own speed. USA is defensive, promotes evolution of humans and thus controls and moderates the rest of the world. Those who do not wish to integrate will disappear slowly as non-valid systems of government. We know exactly where we stand, we the people, for the people and by the people. We did not fight ww2 to conquer. We fought it to liberate the people. The pandemic will only happen while you are dreaming beyond the sun and only there.
    Meantime, the globalization of democracy is unstoppable, here and everywhere. The endless colonization of space will proceed appropriately.
  2. Darcy88's Avatar
    "Adding the Canadian provinces to the U.S. would be fairly easy."

    No it wouldn't, not by a long shot. Canadians make equal if not superior soldiers to you Americans and we are the best marksmen in the entire world. You could shock and awe us into a political surrender after a few weeks to a month, but you're going to have to face many tens of thousands of armed guerilla fighters from the forests and mountains of my home province, to the tundra in the North, the broad sweeping prairies and the province of Quebec. Good luck getting the Quebecois to submit to another conquest. I'm a crafty and crazy bastard and I'd fight to the death against American imperialism, as I'm sure would the overwhelming majority of the people I know.

    And you think Islamic terrorists are bad, just wait until your sworn enemy is a people who look, speak and act exactly like you, and who can't be profiled according to religion or race.

    And all this is nothing compared to the fierce internal opposition and protest the American leadership would face were they to invade Canada. Anywhere from 60-90 percent of the American public would bitterly oppose the invasion. It wouldn't be much beyond the realm of likelihood that there'd be widespread mutiny in the ranks of your military. There'd be many acts of sabotage and instances of your own citizens and officials aiding Canadian resistance movements.

    And, when you really think about, there would be no rational reason for America to invade Canada after 80 percent of the population is wiped out. You wouldn't need our resources now that your numbers have been so drastically reduced.
  3. PeterL's Avatar
    Yes, we would have no reason to invade Canada. Most of the provinces would be will to federate with the U.S. New Foundland came close to that back in '47, We can't tell what Quebec would do. The last time there was anything like an option, Quebec kind of backed the U.S. until it became clear that the giardia (sp?) had thrown in with the Brits (that's another interesting story).
    Updated 05-11-2013 at 01:47 PM by PeterL (typo)
  4. cafolini's Avatar
    Canada is one of the greatest allies of the UK and USA. According to their resources they fought with dignity in WW2. And look at what happened when Nortel went down to 42 cents per share after having been at 42 dollars per share. It was known that the USA would treat it as if it were Ford or Chrysler. And Boeing, etc.? Canada is one of the greatest experiments in healthcare also, indirectly backed by USA. Quebec is French in terms of culture, but it will respond appropriately when the potatoes are burning. And it is also true that Canadians will fight to death when it comes to defending the globalization of democracy. The allies will never let the Canadians down. We are a true family.
  5. Darcy88's Avatar
    Canadians would not willingly join the United States.

    I'd be finely situated to get through such a pandemic. I'm young and healthy and live on an island. My Dad's place is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by rivers full of fish and forest full of deer.
  6. cafolini's Avatar
    Canadians will not join USA. True. They already did.
  7. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Darcy88
    Canadians would not willingly join the United States.

    I'd be finely situated to get through such a pandemic. I'm young and healthy and live on an island. My Dad's place is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by rivers full of fish and forest full of deer.
    That's their business. Maybe only the ones who want to become part of the U.S.A. will survive.

    Islanders have a better chance of survival than almost anyone else.
  8. Virgil's Avatar
    "Another issue in U.S. politics would be local versus central government. How that would play with regard to issues probably would vary with the region, and that support, or not, should be an economic issue, but there would be complications. For practical reasons it would be difficult for the Feds to intrude as much into local issues, because there wouldn’t be enough people to enforce the federal intrusions."
    Well we could only hope. I guess there are bright sides to everything.
  9. Darcy88's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by cafolini
    Canadians will not join USA. True. They already did.
    How did we? I must have missed that referendum or invasion or whatever it was. The two countries more resemble each other than any two other countries on earth, but they are separate and distinct, not just politically but culturally as well. If MCCain and Palin had run in Canada they would've gotten 5 percent of the vote instead of the nearly 50 percent they received down South. We are more rational when it comes to things like health care and bank regulation. We're different countries.

    After global warming ravages much of the American South, causing highly uncomfortable heat waves and a dire shortage of water, the Americans will come here and take what they want. This is inevitable. But it hasn't happened yet.
  10. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Virgil
    Well we could only hope. I guess there are bright sides to everything.
    Yes, let us pray for the bright side.
  11. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Darcy88
    How did we? I must have missed that referendum or invasion or whatever it was. The two countries more resemble each other than any two other countries on earth, but they are separate and distinct, not just politically but culturally as well. If MCCain and Palin had run in Canada they would've gotten 5 percent of the vote instead of the nearly 50 percent they received down South. We are more rational when it comes to things like health care and bank regulation. We're different countries.

    After global warming ravages much of the American South, causing highly uncomfortable heat waves and a dire shortage of water, the Americans will come here and take what they want. This is inevitable. But it hasn't happened yet.
    I also love parallel worlds.