What would happen if you gave all the candy away. No, really, what would happen if, for one country in particular, candy was free? 10% would show restraint and eat healthily. The rest would more or less bing. If you put escalators everywhere, 90% wouldn't climb stairs anymore. This is what has happened with capitalism in America. We've made everything easy and most have binged on it. In fact, I think it's part of a natural cycle. America will lose the power to compete (the escalators will stop), and the next generations will be quite smart because they have to be.

Companies go through this all the time. Company X was at the top of the world, got complacent, lost its competitive edge, and had to start over. What makes us think that countries are any different?

Of course the article cherry-picks evidence to support its claim, and that's not fair. But I think, outside of America, no one questions its premise. Worse, it's evident there is nothing that can be done to remedy the situation; all we can do is wait and let nature take its course.