Los Angeles (CNN) -- China is poised to become the world's largest economy within a decade, according to some economists. Rising giant India already has a middle-class population that is larger than the entire United States population, according to others. Such nuggets fuel an industry of prophetic warnings of decline, exemplified by the phrase "How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented" in the subtitle of Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum's recent best-seller. The rapid growth of China and India and other Asian tigers does not mean that the United States has "fallen behind," however. It takes a panicked perspective to even ponder the point.
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The rapid growth of China and India does not mean the U.S. has fallen behind, Rob Asghar says
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Both face major environmental and infrastructural challenges within the next decade, he says
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Many East and South Asia societies are facing resistance to progress, Asghar says
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Asghar: U.S. may sabotage its tilt toward innovative growth if political dysfunction continues
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