Instigator / Pro
84
1378
rating
36
debates
38.89%
won
Topic
#1206
The United States is the Most Powerful Country in the World
Status
Finished
The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.
Winner & statistics
After 12 votes and with 80 points ahead, the winner is...
TheAtheist
Parameters
- Publication date
- Last updated date
- Type
- Standard
- Number of rounds
- 5
- Time for argument
- One week
- Max argument characters
- 10,000
- Voting period
- One month
- Point system
- Multiple criterions
- Voting system
- Open
Contender / Con
4
1480
rating
2
debates
25.0%
won
Description
The United States is the mightiest country on Earth, as of now. If my opponent believes the opposite, he should select a country he thinks is more powerful and debate with me.
Please provide sources if you're going to include statistics.
Round 1
I don't know what country my opponent will choose, so I'm just going to present some statistics for the United States. We can argue about them in the next round.
============
=Economy=
The United States is the world's largest economy by nominal Gross Domestic Product. The annual GDP for 2019 is estimated to be $21.3 trillion, which means America has a higher GDP than any other country on Earth. About 60% of all funds used in global trade are in U.S. Dollars. In many countries, the dollar is either the official currency or the de-facto currency, which gives the United States a lot of power over the economies of those countries [1].
The United States also houses many of the world's largest companies, such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Apple, Wells Fargo, Amazon, Microsoft, and countless others [2]. These companies posess a lot of influence internationally and thus make the United States even more powerful.
=Military=
The United States is widely considered to have the most powerful military in the world. As of 2018, the United States annual defense budget was $587 billion, which means it spends more on defense than any other country in the world. The United States spends more money on its military than China, Russia, India, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey, Germany, and Egypt combined [3].
The United States has 1.35 million active personnel and an additional 0.8 million in its seven reserve components. The United States Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world, meaning it hires more people than any other corporation or government agency. Roughly 120 million Americans, or about 30% of the population, are fit for military service. Overall, the United States has the third largest military in the world by personnel [4].
The United States has the largest air force in the world, with 13,762 aircraft. The United States also has the largest navy in the world, with a staggering total of 415 ships. Out of those 415 ships, 19 are aircraft carriers, meaning the U.S. has the most aircraft carriers in the world [3]. The United States has an inventory of 6,450 nuclear warheads. Only Russia has more nukes than the US, and the difference between the two countries is just forty nuclear weapons [5].
=Global Influence=
The United States is, hands down, the most influential country in the world. It has military bases all around the world, you can see which country has a U.S. military base in this map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_overseas_military_bases#/media/File:American_bases_worldwide.svg. All these overseas military bases make the United States a global powerhouse with soldiers all around the globe.
The United States is a member of NATO, meaning that it has 28 other allies which will defend America if it is attacked. NATO is the largest military alliance in the world, and it consists of other powerful countries like Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and many others. If someone tries to attack the U.S., they won't stand a chance as nobody is strong enough to fight with all of NATO [6].
============
=Sources=
Forfeited
Round 2
Below is a very insightful video that explains tons about America's role in geopolitics.
Forfeited
Round 3
This is bad conduct!
Forfeited
Round 4
Extend my arguments.
Forfeited
Round 5
RapidKnight got burned to crisps with my laser eyes.
Forfeited
France has more soft power France becomes the world No 1 for soft power France is the most powerful nation in the world. At least, it is when it comes to a certain type of power.
The election of President Emmanuel Macron has propelled France to the top of the Soft Power league table. Macron and his centrist government have leapfrogged the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Canada to claim first place in the annual ranking of countries’ soft power.
Since the results were announced, President Macron's distinctive take on diplomacy has seen him give a live horse to China's President Xi Jinping and lend the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK for the first time in history. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/france-new-world-leader-in-soft-power/
in terms of soft power its actually france
Criterion Pro Tie Con Points
Better arguments ✔ ✗ ✗ 3 points
Better sources ✔ ✗ ✗ 2 points
Better spelling and ✔ ✗ ✗ 1 point
Better conduct ✔ ✗ ✗ 1 point
Reason:
Full forfeit by CON
https://www.debateart.com/rules
I say let them vote if it's not moderated
come on it was FF
https://www.debateart.com/rules
Something else you'll find useful: https://tiny.cc/DebateArt
Could I get a link to the COC?
*******************************************************************
>Reported Vote: Nicko/Exile // Mod action: Removed
>Points Awarded: Points to con for forfeit
>Reason for Mod Action: These accounts are ineligible to vote. In order to vote, an account must: (1) Read the site’s COC AND have completed 2 non-troll/non-FF debate OR have 100 forum posts.
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I truly can't wrap my head around that number, what a weapon it could be if used properly!
true, such a large population lets you scale you economy to insane levels
Jesus. Also, just think about how China's population of 1.4 billion is more than the entire human population combined for much of human history.
True, I heard if China had the GDP per capita of America their GDP would be 40 trillion
Could be propaganda numbers, that's true. But no doubt China has the population and resources to soar to the top. It's inevitable, but may not be immediately on the horizon.
well said, I think china'sthraet to the US is exaggerated, many question the validity of China's growth, even china's minister of economics said China's GDP growth figures are unreliable. It's also fishy how china's unemployment didn't change during an economic recession.
Yes, absolutely, I think you're right in that it is CAPABLE of being debated. So it is not TRULY truism in the sense of it not being a debate at all, but it is a rather obvious win for Pro. (Which is why I said it is "a bit like" a truism debate, but not completely.) When weighing all the metrics of what constitutes "power," it is fairly obvious China falls behind with tech, military, living standards, most metrics of economy, etc.
However, I think an interesting debate would be: "Will China be more powerful than the US in the FUTURE?"
China, imo, has the potential to be the most powerful empire the world has ever witnessed.
I disagree, China is a nation you could argue well, I do still belive America is stonger, but China by GDP PPP and real GDP is richer than America, only by nominal GDP and GDP percapita is America richer
To me this seems a bit like a truism debate. Maybe a better one is "America is the GREATEST country in the world"
Dang it, I was really hoping to see a full debate here. Too bad Con had to forfeit.
Huh? This debate is talking about geopolitical power, not healthcare or education. I never said that I only care about a country's power, no need to make stuff up.
I mean is power all you care about in a country? Because if we compare the United States on healthcare and education which are two important areas, it's being destroyed.
I agree, the only other country you could argue is like China I guess.
AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!