But one popular theory is the accumulated effect of corruption of the leaders - people who saw being in leadership as a way to enrich themselves by taking actions in their own personal interest and against the interest of the empire. I think about this idea a lot. I'm not making a huge statement like "the American empire is falling", but I am saying that we see a lot of corruption in the USA. As an "Americanophile" western european, I also find it shocking.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empi...