Chinese leaders see America as "decadent, hollow, and in rapid decline", and speeches such as Rubio's "the temper tantrums of the dying throes of a once great power".
Do you think the people in that room had even a moment of uncomfortable selfawareness, or did they just double down on copium?
We don't have centuries though. Most empires that gradually decayed into death did so under a pretty stable natural environment, but climate change and the inevitable chaos that brings is going to completely upend the current geopolitical situation. There's no way around that and we're already beginning the plunge into it. There has been plenty of research into how even relatively small but rapid changes in climate have caused the fall of past empires.
I would also say that the US has been decaying for decades already and is now well into the phase of coasting on the inertia of the glory days of its imperialism. There's a lot of talk about multipolarity and some have suggested that dedollarization is what could be the irreparable breaking point. I'm skeptical of that last bit personally, but there is imo no way that the US lasts in any recognizable form for another century, or even 3 decades. As an empire, I think it's very safe to say its on its last leg.
Lenin and something about "weeks" and "decades."