The United States remains the world’s sole military superpower and the majority of Americans want to keep it that way despite the public’s desire to scale back force, according to a new study.
More than half—55 percent—of individuals reported that they support policies that maintain the U.S.’s global military status, a Pew Research Center study revealed Thursday.
Compare that to roughly a third—36 percent—who responded that it would be acceptable if another nation, such as China or the European Union, exceeded the U.S.’s military strength.
Despite dismal projections from politicians and pundits barraging the U.S.'s military status, Pew Research reported that America is still the only nation in the world that has the capacity to intervene nearly anywhere.
While the study found partisan differences, a majority in both parties said the U.S. should back policies that preserve its military status. Two-thirds of Republicans favored policies aimed at upholding the U.S. as the only superpower while 50 percent of Democrats said the same.
Interestingly, though most Americans favored retaining the nation's military rank, a majority—57 percent—said they wanted the U.S. to "deal with its own problems and let other countries deal with their problems the best they can." A mere 37 percent meanwhile favored U.S. intervention.