‘If I am right in my conjectures, most of the greatest catastrophes in history have occurred because of the instinctive effort of humanity to adjust itself to changes in the conditions of life, wrought by the movement from point to point of the international centre of empire and wealth.’
Near the end of the nineteenth century, Brooks Adams felt a great disturbance in the international system. Great Britain and the British Empire, the supreme power of the world since the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, was showing signs of weakness. This weakness was sensed by the other Great Powers and Adams predicted that Britain’s supremacy will be passed on to either Germany or the United States. Being an American, Adams outlined the possibility of the United States assuming the role of the new supremacy and predicted that New York would overtake London as the new financial centre of the world.
A thinker of great depth with a strong understanding of various topics, Adams carefully outlined the decline of Britain by analysing not just its economy, but also its military failures and the changes in its literature. A geopolitical thinker ahead of his time, Adams predicted the struggle for supremacy of the continental land powers and the maritime powers over the Eurasian landmass. Whether this landmass will be consolidated by any Great Power will be the decisive factor in the shape of the international order.
Brooks Adams was an American historian and political scientist. He had a wide range of academic interests ranging from geopolitics and finance to the rise and decay of civilization. He was also a descendant of John Quincy Adams and the brother of Henry Adams.