There is a difference between prophecy and warning, prediction and speculation. If you can grasp that distinction without reacting with a paraoxysm of denial, you may profit from this piece.

The scenarios described are different, often contradictory, and not all equally persuasive, but psychohistory (in the Asimovian sense of the word) is not an exact science. In fact, its not a science at all, its more like an art form. And art, unlike science, is our tool for investigating the whys, not the hows.

The entire article is worth reading. Here is an excerpt:

Faced with a fading superpower incapable of paying the bills, China, India, Iran, Russia, and other powers, great and regional, provocatively challenge U.S. dominion over the oceans, space, and cyberspace. Meanwhile, amid soaring prices, ever-rising unemployment, and a continuing decline in real wages, domestic divisions widen into violent clashes and divisive debates, often over remarkably irrelevant issues. Riding a political tide of disillusionment and despair, a far-right patriot captures the presidency with thundering rhetoric, demanding respect for American authority and threatening military retaliation or economic reprisal. The world pays next to no attention as the American Century ends in silence.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-215_162-7121029.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody