The rise and fall of the United States

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio

America is heading for disaster. At least that's what author and political commentator Kevin Phillips thinks.

St. Paul, Minn. — The United States leads the world in commerce as well as in political and military force. And it's currently the planet's only superpower. But Kevin Phillips believes America may soon lose its foothold on first place.

In his latest book, American Theocracy, Phillips argues the U.S. displays all the characteristics of a country heading for a fall. The author says every world power, from ancient Rome to the British Empire, has been brought down by a related set of causes, including global overreach, militant religion and ballooning debt. He says the decisions the United States is making today are the same ones that destroyed the world's previous empires.

Phillips says we need only to look to the past to get a glimpse of America's future. And the way he sees it, the future isn't bright.