America Is An Empire

The arguments against the stability and security of empire are pages long, and rich with empirical evidence, but the argument must finally cease as to whether or not the United States is an empire. It is, homie.

I offer two definitions in support of this:

From Dictionary.Com:



True, the United States is not explicitly a territorial empire, but this is true only in the strictest definition of the term. The U.S. has many hundreds of permanent military bases located around the world, and owns large portions of land in several countries that have independent governments. It's influence - what Jospeh Nye has labelled "soft power" - pervades every corner of the globe, in many cases American influence is enough to fundamentally shape the policies of other nations.

It is the second definition, though, which is most fitting, and is reiterated by the following definition.

John Lewis Gaddis, in Surprise, Security, and the American Experience, defines 'empire' as:



This definition is a fair one, and encompasses the nuances of what constitutes empire in a fairly complete manner. It is also perfect descriptor of the type of empire that America is.

I make no normative claims in this thread. I seek simply to establish that the U.S. is, in fact, an empire in the best definitions of the word.

Personally, I think viewing the world in terms of civilizations - with American empire at the helm of Western civilization, sharing it with the European Union - is the most apt paradigm with which to view the world. But America is an empire unto itself nonetheless.

I will explain why, in my opinion, American empire is doomed to failure - halting but inevitable failure - in a later thread. For now, I end with a word of advice for the younger posters on Able2Know: learn to speak Chinese.

Trust me on this.