This is more or less a
generalisation. History is replete with examples where
less civilised societies were able to defeat far more superior civilisations. For example:
- Mongols beat the Persians and the Caliphate of Baghdad and then the captured China.
- Germanic tribes defeated the Western Roman Empire.
- Arabs defeated Persians and Eastern Roman Empire, superpowers of their times.
One thing that has persistently been present in all the major conqueror societies of the past is the
pooling of the resources, human and material, to create a Pax-Romana, Pax-Brittania, Pax-Americana and Pax-Islamica (
Dar-us-Salam and Dar-ul-Harb). All these societies pooled the knowledge base and the human capital to advance their aims.
On the contrary, the societies which were
fragmented (religiously, socially, ethnically),
decadent and
indifferent (to the needs of their citizens, to the challenges of the age – scientific, social, economic, etc.) are most likely to fall.
America's strength is it's strong bond of nationalism that is
supra-ethnic and
supra-religious. Pooling of human and material capital has brought best minds of the world to its doors.
Same could be said about any large power in the past, an economic power presented
economic opportunities (like the land of opportunity today) and people were attracted to it. The people who went were already those who were
risk-takers and people who had
mental prowess or the capital to spend. Once, a nucleus was formed, it automatically expanded with all the input coming from the outside. All that was needed was:
Effective Management (Governance). Another example is mini-superpower of
Singapore.
One problem that was present with most of the superpower of the past and present is that they are all
predatory in nature. Just like nature they also
abhor a power vacuum and seek to fill it. This way they expand their outreach, but sometimes become victim to expansion; a commonly quoted example is Soviet Union. It is this predatory nature of superpowers – for the sake of power, territory or resources – is that
does not allow other people to reach their level.
Now, instead of expanding further, I would just say a couple of things about the
world today: It's Malthusian. There are a
finite resources for which there is an
expanding global population is competing. The best small essay written by a Malthusian – Jared Mason Diamond - about that can be accessed here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/opinion/02diamond.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Being a Muslim, I agree with @Akhelios, Our Achilles heel is UNITY i.e. not pooling the resources of the Ummah.
And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided. (3:103)