It’s December of 2019, so you know what that means: We’ve arrived at that special time when newsletter writers start penning their “Decade in Review” articles and pedants vainly contend that, “aKtUAlLy, the new decade doesn’t start until 2021!”

So let’s ignore the pedants and get to that moment you’ve all been waiting for: the moment when I reveal my choice for the story of the decade.

The 2010s were obviously a rollercoaster of a ride, including everything from wars and riots to false flag terror events and geopolitical upheaval (and even the occasional good news story!). But you may be surprised that I believe that the 2010s will go down in the books as “The Decade That America Lost Its Hegemon.”

This will be especially surprising if you watched New World Next Year 2020 and saw that I picked the USSA unilaterally re-asserting its Monroe Doctrine dominance over the entire Western hemisphere as my choice for the news story of 2019. After all, doesn’t a story like that simply prove that America continues to see itself as the unchallenged (and unchallengeable) unitary world superpower?

No, not necessarily. In fact, I would say—echoing Ryan Cristian in a recent edition of The Last American Vagabond—”They [Uncle Sam & Co.] are losing their influence, but that’s why they’re wielding what they have left.”

Don’t believe me? Let’s roll up our sleeves and take a look at some of the lowlights of the last 10 years, shall we?

Read James’ hot take on how the 2010s marked the beginning of the end of Pax Americana (and what this means for the future) in this week’s edition of The Corbett Report Subscriber.

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