Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire
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- ISBN13: 9780143034797
- Condition: New
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Product Description
Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson ranges across the entire history of America’s foreign entanglements and delves into all the dimensions of American power—military, economic, cultural, and political. The result is a book whose conclusions are as convincing, and troubling, as they are original. Ferguson demonstrates that America has permanently been an empire in denial and shows the fateful consequences of its special brand of imperialism. He examines the challenges to the United States from its principal rivals, the European Union and China, and offers a compelling analysis of the tie between the country’s domestic economic health and its foreign affairs—the bottom line of imperialism, American style. Colossus is a peerless reckoning with American power that should be read by any thinking citizen of this unspoken empire.Amazon.com Review
“The United States today is an empire—but a peculiar kind of empire,” writes Niall Ferguson. Despite overwhelming military, economic, and cultural dominance, America has had a hard time imposing its will on additional nations, mostly because the country is uncomfortable with imperialism and thus unable to use this power most effectively and decisively. The origin of this attitude and its persistence is a principal theme of this thought-provoking book, including how domestic politics affects foreign policy, whether it is politicians apprehensive about the next election or citizens who “like Social Security more than national security.” Ferguson, a British historian, has no objection to an American empire, as long as it is a liberal one actively underwriting the free exchange of goods, labor, and capital. Further, he writes that “empire is more necessary in the twenty-first century than ever before” as a means to “contain epidemics, depose tyrants, end local wars and eradicate terrorist organizations.” The sooner America embraces this role and acts on it confidently, the better. Ferguson contrasts this persistent anti-imperialistic urge with the attitude held by the British Empire and suggests that America has much to learn from that model if it is to achieve its stated foreign policy objectives of spreading social freedom, democracy, development, and the free market to the world. He suggests that the U.S. must be willing to send money, civilians, and troops for a sustained period of time to troubled spots if there is to be real change—as in Japan and Germany after World War II–an thought that many American citizens and leaders now find repulsive. Rather than devoting limited resources and striving to get complex jobs done in a rush, Americans must be willing to integrate themselves into a foreign culture until a full Americanization has occurred, he writes. Overall, a trenchant examination of a uniquely American dilemma and its implications for the rest of the world. –Shawn Carkonen
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If you’ve allowed yourself to be influenced by the well loved (but painstakingly unsubstantiated) views of Liberals, then you’ll award this book of fiction five stars. But, if you have an wide background in subjects like history, political science and psychology, you will only be disgusted at Ferguson’s pandering to the Liberals who continue to praise the Emperor’s New Clothes in the face of overwhelming evidence of his nudity.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Ferguson is an “intellectual” darling of the New Right, but his powers of foresight are shaped by ancient prejudices. When will the Cons learn that the world does not simply repeat itself? A Gibbon he ain’t, but then again neither is the trans-atlantic Republic a modern-day caricature of the Roman Empire…
C.G. Panagidis
Athensm Greece
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
The leader claims that Palestinian terrorism in Israel is the result of Israel’s failure to negotiate peace and as a replacement for make war on terrorism. He either intentionally or ignorantly omits a consideration of the fact that israel copious times has offered peace to the Palestinians, and most recently offered to give the Palestinians it’s entire infrastructure in Judea and Samaria and Gaza (i.e. all the housing, etc.). The result of that offer was the most recent intifada. You can’t negotiate with an enemy who irrevocably wants to ruin you, or who in many cases sees your destruction as an end in itself.
Although the leader writes with seeming intelligence and insight, his failure to acknowledge basic facts such as persons I have open above, discredits his own work. If he fails to inform his reader correctly on one issue, how can one know whether or not he falsly presents facts on additional issues. I don’t know whether or not to judge him.
Sometimes we judge people know what they are talking about because they write or speak well, not because what they have to say is right. I judge this is one of persons cases.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Prof. Ferguson delights in writing about empires: such as were a hundred years ago and such as he perceives today. His problem is his like for global empire where there is none. What do you reflect Thomas Jefferson would say to the thought of an American Empire based on the principles of British Empire? Thus, I proclaim this book a sham. Sorry, global power projection does not work by “soft power” as any pragmatist knows. Ferguson works on two incorrect premises: “empire” and “soft power”. What a needless book!
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
Ferguson (a British literary) breaks one of the cardinal rules in the U.S. when it comes to discussing foreign policy and international relations — he says there is a U.S. Empire. This is just not done. Talk of Fantastic Powers, or “The American Project” is one thing, but we don’t have an Empire, for goodness sake! Never mind that Rumsfeld ordered a study of the Roman Empire not too long ago in search of useful guidance for an Empire that makes the Roman one look like kid’s stuff, critics like Chomsky who talk about the Empire are persona non grata.
Ferguson, but, is not a critic. He thinks the U.S. Empire could be a swell thing if it would just be more like the British Empire of the 19th Century. He has an absolutely excellent point — if what the U.S. wants to do is be a maximally effective Empire, it needs to renovate the capacity for colonial administration necessary to follow through with when it invades, overthrows governments, and occupies Afghanistan, Iraq, and the next countries on the neoconservatives’ list. The U.S. needs to take its imperial responsibility seriously, stiff upper lip and all that. We should take pride in our civilizing role vis a vis the barbarian parts of the world, and it is nice to make all persons profits as well. I’m sure Ferguson is right that the U.S. Empire will last longer if we don’t try to run it on the cheap.
Ferguson considers Americans naive not to know our imperial role, but clearly he is the one who is naive. A large percentage of Americans are reasonably pleased thinking the U.S. is nothing but a victim and that we do nothing but excellent in our endless series of overseas military operations, most never called wars outright. They are reasonably pleased to carry out bombing runs that kill lots of “terrible guys,” come home leaving the place in ruins, and then they like to complain bitterly about the mystery of why “everybody despises us.” Peacekeeping and nation-building is for Europeans and additional wimps. The American way of war involves massive firepower, destroying the village in order to save it. We’re the Oil Police now, and nothing is going to stand in the way of Our Precious Oil, certainly not some British literary who says we should pay privileged taxes for colonial administration. We plot to go out in a blaze of glory, dropping bombs and burning the last ounce of oil — let the wimps clean up the planet after we’ve “set everybody free” just like in the Randy Newman song.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5