Yes. Europe is living Atlas Shrugged live.

It's mostly part of the declining world, although there are ascending spots here and there.

While I agree, there are a few things to note as well:
- Western Europe has insane amounts of accumulated capital. It can take decades until people realize their in the declining world fully...
- Asia varies a lot. High quality on surface does not mean it is not made out of cardboard. Singapore good, China ... when I came to Xishuangbanna, I got an advice "enjoy the food, it's great, but never look into the kitchen".

On the other hand, visiting Germany, which once I admired for quality and infrastructure, is clearly declining. Smelly toilet, abandoned construction, trash everywhere, people losing their drive for production...

If you want to be part of something new and ascending, you need to go elsewhere. Europe is gone.