The shrinking Middle Class of America offers a glimpse into why this post is poignient. 

Chicken Little will tell you that the class based system of America is failing.  Chicken Little, right or wrong, is indeed seeing shifts in our demographics.  A growing lower class bodes poorly for future class tensions and the social pressures that result from them.

Do the vested interests of the rich, the corporate and the state weild enough power to keep the masses mollified, or could the American experiment in a Republic system fall victim to the system of capitalism that is the beating heart of it's economy? 

What kind of system of governance and economics would replace that which we have now?

Remember, the land and the trees and rocks and roads will be here in 200 years, but what kind of lifestyle, culture, and society will we and our progeny inherit (yes, I plan to be around then)?