The ability of the west to project power globally is waning at an accelerated rate as the global south develops economically and technologically. There are three components to power: economic, military and cultural. The latter two ultimately derive from the economic base. Without the global economic (and technological) dominance that the west has enjoyed up to now their power cannot be maintained. Every year the west makes up a smaller portion of the global economic pie. De-industrialized and sliding ever deeper into economic crisis the US is already overextended militarily. It still enjoys dominance in the media and cultural (hollywood, etc.) arenas for now, but that too will change, if somewhat slower. In a multipolar world a singular cultural hegemony cannot exist.