I'd say circa 1990.

Not sure you've got there yet

I say 1970.

The major civil rights legislation had passed. Social progress was on the national agenda. We were still a rich country. We were still the biggest lender nation, not the biggest debtor nation. Labor unions still had some say. There was still heavy industry. There was still the family farm. We had put men on the moon. There was at least some sense of economic justice. The major recessions of the 1970s had yet to occur. The Reagan stormtroopers had yet to instill their reactionary "values," and start giving away the store to the richest percentile.
If you drove a time machine back to 1970 and asked vox populi if 1970 was the "peak of American civilization," the most positive answer you'd get would be "I hope not!," but 1970 was in the wake of Vietnam, Nixon, the Kennedy and King assassinations, Kent State, urban riots, the hedonistic hippie subculture, and other turmoil. I wouldn't expect Americans in 1970 to prognosticate the final third of the 20th century!
I would have said the peak was the Kennedy Administration, but there was too much work undone in social justice and civil rights. I like to think if JFK, RFK, and MLK had not been DOA, much more of the HOPE we as a nation had in that era would have become reality!
:\'(

until gays are allowed to marry, american civilization will never peak... though in many other areas we've gone from civilized to barbaric and animalistic and i don't think there is any turning back. 

It's hard to say. I mean, I know when other civilizations peaked, probably. Britain peaked or peaked the first time in the 19th century, not that it mightn't peak again. The Netherlands peaked in the 1600s. France peaked in the 18th and early 19th century first, and then c. 1900. Germany really peaked in the mid-20th century to about the 1980s, though the early 19th century wasn't bad for it either. Modern Japan peaked in the 1970s-1980s. The Arab World peaked in the Middle Ages and its smaller current renaissance will soon be over. China has had various peaks, one might be coming up soon, but it's seen others. Italy peaked 1400-1700. Spain peaked in the 1500s-mid 1600s, probably, and so did Portugal, really. Russian civilization was also c. 1900. Hmm, American civilization. It's hard to say. I'd say we've had multiple peaks. One was the 1920s, one was the 1890s, one was the 1950s, one was the 1980s. Not that I like the politics of any of these periods.

Then there's urban peaks. Like NYC is probably peaking now, though it peaked for the first time in the 1920s. L.A. peaked from the 1950s-mid 1990s or so. The peak of San Francisco was the 1960s. Chicago peaked the first time in the 1920s. London's absolute peak may have been the 1890s or so.

Peaked in terms of power/influence? Some would say it's growing in power in terms of political/military influence as well as cultural influence, but in terms of economy the peak was definitely the post-war years 1946-1973. The economic downturn in the early 70s brought a slump, before a slight re-surgence in the early 80s before yet another stock-market crash. Yet I'm pretty sure America will be greatly influential for many years to come.

until gays are allowed to marry, american civilization will never peak... though in many other areas we've gone from civilized to barbaric and animalistic and i don't think there is any turning back. 

I agree, there has been a great deal of devolution culturally in the past 25 years. It turns out greed is NOT good...in the long run, greed is not even good for business! I believe it is the rise of so-called "individualism" and the corporate model for everything that has dragged America into the mud. We have one the highest infant mortality rates (5 per 1000) in the "developed" world. We are tied with Poland and Hungary. Latvia trails behind us a bit! Think about what that means!

About gay marriage, I think most of its opponents don't really know any gay couples, and a lot of them are downright bigots. I am thinking of a good friend of mine who is gay and has been with the same monogamous partner for nearly thirty years. That's a better track record than either of my very own heterosexual parents!


Peaked in terms of power/influence? Some would say it's growing in power in terms of political/military influence as well as cultural influence, but in terms of economy the peak was definitely the post-war years 1946-1973. The economic downturn in the early 70s brought a slump, before a slight re-surgence in the early 80s before yet another stock-market crash. Yet I'm pretty sure America will be greatly influential for many years to come.

The trouble I had with the question is there are so many categories of peaking. I agree with you, economically speaking, about the postwar years (1946-1974). The Reagan stormtroopers squandered all that prosperity. It's over.

About gay marriage, I think most of its opponents don't really know any gay couples, and a lot of them are downright bigots. I am thinking of a good friend of mine who is gay and has been with the same monogamous partner for nearly thirty years. That's a better track record than either of my very own heterosexual parents!


I think that's the exact problem.  They don't know gay couples.  I have been with my partner for 4 years, and though that may not seem long, we are committed and working on buying a house together, we have a joint checking account, we do everything together.  Our love for each other is just as strong and pure and true as a straight couples' love.  the only difference is that we are two men.  And for that reason, we cannot get married and it's not fair.  I know people think a marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman, but I think a marriage is supposed to be between two people who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together.  And that's us.  I would love to be able to marry him, but sadly I don't see that happenening for a long time, if ever.  Thanks, George W.

I think the United States peaked in the late 1990s, probably in the period from 1996 to 99. At the time, the Cold War had ended, and the United States stood unchallenged as the world's only superpower. Also, it was before the start of the War on Terror, so it was a time of unprecedented peace and security.

The late 1990s is also when the crumbling inner cities of the United States, which had been cesspools of crime and poverty for decades, started to make great improvements. Crime rates decreased significantly.

Under Bill Clinton's leadership, the federal government wasn't running a deficit and the country was on a sound fiscal footing.

And the late 90s was a time of sizeable economic prosperity, with the rise of the Internet, the dot-com boom, and the soaring stock market.

I know there's many different ways to measure economic performance(unemployment rate, GDP per capita, stock market performance, cost of living, etc.), and that numbers can be deceiving, so some people might be able to cite reasons that those times weren't so prosperous.  :-\\ But they'd still have to concede that the country was at least doing reasonably well.

Not sure you've got there yet


I'd agree.  America is a grand experiment...but rather young yet to have a peak perhaps.
(also, I'm awful with history and so I can't think that hard  ;D)

This question reminds me of one asked of Gandi, "what do you think of western civilization?".  Gandi supposedly replied "it would be a good idea".  While there is much to be proud of about this country, most of it seems under attack of late, so its been down hill since 2000.

This question reminds me of one asked of Gandi, "what do you think of western civilization?".  Gandi supposedly replied "it would be a good idea".  While there is much to be proud of about this country, most of it seems under attack of late, so its been down hill since 2000.

I thought of that Ghandi quote myself!

It hasn't just been "down hill" since 2000, what we're beginning to realize five years post-Bush coup is it's "over the cliff"!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/scared.gif