The United States presides over the most far-flung imperial system ever established. This thoughful study compares the American Empire to those of the past, finding much can be learned from the fates of the British, Roman, Chinese, Incan, and Aztec empires. Rome, like the U.S., was a military superpower. And just as Rome's armies were stretched thin, so too are America's but Rome's leaders eventually gave up on conquering Scotland. Will the U.S. do the same in Iraq? Laxer draws ominous parallels with the British, who discovered too late that empire building ultimately threatens the health of democracy at home. Documenting how the American Empire works and what it means to the rest of the world, Empire asks: Does the American Empire bring stability to a troubled world? Or, like its imperial predecessors, does it impose inequality and oppression on humanity? And what happens when an empire tumbles?
- ISBN10 1283301768
- ISBN13 9781283301763
- Publish Date 1 January 2011 (first published 17 August 2006)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 19 November 2013
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Groundwood Books
- Edition First Trade Paper Edition
- Format eBook
- Pages 144
- Language English