Albrenia wrote:Proctopeo wrote:Obviously, there's more factors, but "the government still governs" is a really significant one.
More specifically, there's four big factors, as defined by the Fund for Peace:
- Loss of control over its territory/monopoly on violence within it
- Erosion of legitimate authority
- Inability to provide public services
- Inability to interact with other states
The US doesn't meet any of them.
Just for the sake of nitpicking, wouldn't the first one be met by the 2nd Amendment alone and stuff like Castle laws?
Not that I'm saying the US is literally a failed state, I just like to poke things.
The United States having liberal gun laws doesn't translate into it having lost control of its territory. The Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, not snatch up territory. If there is any country on Earth that can secure its territorial integrity and ward off threats from within and without, it's going to be the US.