The west, and in particular the US, is failing for two very simple reasons:
It lacks sound money. From this very simple fact flows 100% of America's many and sundry political, financial, and economic problems. Unlimited currency printing means unlimited government, unlimited debt, and eventually limitless collapse. The second reason: is has eschewed massive central planning for the capitalistic free markets. Capitalism has been replaced by the socialism of the crony state.
When we say ‘the market’ decides, what we mean is that many, many people, millions of them, make decisions for themselves. When we say ‘the government’, we mean that a small number of people take the all the important decisions. This little group decides which issues everyone else may decide for themselves, and it proceed to take from us all those decisions which are meaningful and leave us with decisions that are trivial.
So you to act for yourself, and stop waiting for the government to provide, and you have to protect yourself as much as you can from the decisions of governments, which disempower other people, and since they don't like to see your freedom, incentivise them to disempower you.