The Self-Inflicted Decline_ Are We Our Own Worst Enemy_ (1)

When we think about national security, our minds usually jump to foreign adversaries, military budgets, and shifting global alliances. But what if the greatest threat to American strength isn't sitting in a bunker halfway across the world? What if it is coming from inside the house? Michael Mazarr from the RAND Corporation points to a sobering reality: nations don't just collapse from external force; they rot from internal neglect. He identifies seven pillars of national success, like shared opportunity, a unified identity, and effective institutions. Right now, it looks like we are systematically chipping away at all of them. Think about it—national ambition requires us to believe in a common future, but when we are locked in a cycle of partisan fighting, that future becomes impossible to visualize. This isn't just about political feelings. There is hard evidence that rising economic inequality feeds directly into what experts call affective polarization.

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