Written by Frank Li
In a previous post (America: A Great Country Without A Working Government?), I questioned America’s viability as a great country without even having a working government. This post will go one step further, questioning America’s viability as an empire.
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Four big questions and simple answers:
- Is America an empire? Yes!
- How did America become an empire? Step by step since 1776!
- Is the American Empire in decline? Yes!
- Will the American Empire last? No!
Let me elaborate on each …
1. Is America an empire?
Yes, it is!
The image below is worth more than 1,000 words.
2. How did America become an empire?
Step by step since 1776!
Below are six major steps or milestones:
- America was built to become an empire.
- Louisiana Purchase.
- Monroe Doctrine.
- Trail of Tears.
- Wilsonianism.
- Bretton Woods Conference.
Let me elaborate on each …
2.1 America was built to become an empire
America was founded by the rich, for the rich, of the rich, to become an empire (like Britain), and American history has been a history of expansion. Two informative readings:
2.2 Louisiana purchase
This purchase easily doubled the size of America, as highlighted by the image below.
For more, read: Wikipedia – Louisiana Purchase.
2.3 Monroe Doctrine
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Monroe Doctrine.
The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas beginning in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to take control of any independent state in North or South America would be viewed as “the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.”[1] At the same time, the doctrine noted that the U.S. would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued on December 2, 1823 at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved, or were at the point of gaining, independence from the Portuguese and Spanish Empires.
For more, read: Wikipedia – Monroe Doctrine.
2.4 Trial of tears
This was yet another big slap at the purported reason behind the American Revolution (e.g. “All men are created equal” and “We the People”), perhaps even worse than slavery, because it was a genocide.
For more, read: Wikipedia – Trail of Tears.
2.5 Wilsonianism
The image below is worth more than 1,000 words.
For more, read: Expansionism: Woodrow Wilson vs. Thomas Jefferson.
2.6 Bretton Woods Conference
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Bretton Woods Conference.
The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War II.[1]
The conference was held from July 1 – 22, 1944. Agreements were signed that, after legislative ratification by member governments, established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This paved the way for America to become the most dominant empire in human history – With all the other powers being destroyed by World War II, America installed military bases all over the world, while controlling all the seas.
3. Is the American Empire in decline?
Yes!
The American Empire peaked in 1991, when the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the USSR. Unfortunately, instead of using this historical opportunity for world peace, America continued its practice of Democratic Imperialism. For more, read: The Evil Military-Industrial Complex.
Worse yet for America, while it continued its self-destruction at home with Democratic Socialism, the emerging economies, led by China, have been rising. As a result, for the first time since World War II, America has a real competitor in China, not only economically, but also politically.
Worst of all for America, President George W. Bush launched the Iraq War in 2003, exporting democracy by force, after the initial reason of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) turned out to be false.
The launch of the Iraq War will eventually prove to be not only the beginning of the end of the American Empire, but also a turning point for China’s comeback in terms of Chinese civilization vs. Western civilization. For more, read: History 2.0.
4. Will the American Empire last?
No!
No empire has ever lasted for long, except for China!
How, then, is America compared with China?
Let’s discuss it in some depth …
5. Discussion
The image below highlights the key difference between the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire, which is why the former was long gone while the latter has long endured.
Three informative readings on ancient China vs. the West:
- Ancient Greece vs. Ancient China.
- Ancient Rome vs. Ancient China.
- The Era of the Byzantine Empire vs. Ancient China.
In short, here is the open secret behind the longevity of the Chinese Empire (and civilization): uniformity, with an Emperor at the top!
In contrast, America, as an extension of the Western civilization, has neither!
Most notably, China has been [mostly] self-contained over the past 2,000 years, nurturing its culture and governance, while fending off foreign invasions. In contrast, the U.S. has been hugely interventionistic over the past few decades, at least, all over the world, from Vietnam (Vietnam War), to the Mideast (The Middle East without America?), to Latin America (What Is Really Going on in Venezuela?), without even basically nurturing its culture and governance at home, all the while under the delusion of American exceptionalism!
So, here is a simple question: What’s holding the American Empire together?
Two possible answers repudiated:
- By America’s chief ideology: democracy. What a joke! For more, read: History 2.0: Western Liberal Democracy is a Big and Fat Lie!
- By America’s military power. Are you kidding? For more, read: President Trump in the Real World of Three New Kingdoms.
More basically, what is holding America together?
Here is a simple answer: inertia, thanks to our vast resourcefulness in nature! For more, read: What Is Holding America Together?
More profoundly, below are four informative readings on the U.S. vs. China:
- China vs. America: Uniformity vs. Diversity.
- Governance in China: Past, Present, and Future.
- Governance in America.
- The U.S. vs. China: A Great Experiment vs. A Great Civilization!
Finally, two simple questions and answers:
- Can the American Empire be saved? No!
- Can America be saved? Yes!
For more, read my last book: American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?
6. Two excellent videos
Video 1: Chas Freeman has a sound worldview.
Video 2: The issues Chris Hedges has raised are valid, but he has no real solution for America – He is just a radical social critic!
7. Four basic questions for America
- Is prosperity uniquely American, with other countries, especially those who do not look like us (e.g. China), not allowed to have it?
- Can the U.S. compete civilly, without resorting to the military power?
- Is our interventionism in Venezuela (What Is Really Going on in Venezuela?) different from that in the Mideast (The Middle East without America?)?
- Do we have to contain a competitor like China by all means, in order to continue to dominate the world? Here is an example: What is the real cost of the Huawei hostage?
8. Closing
No empire has been possible without being a great country first. No empire has been sustainable without continuing to be a great country.
No country has ever been great (for long) without a great government!
Unfortunately for America, our government does not even work anymore, let alone being great!
Unless we reform our political system, as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), America will cease to be a great country and the American Empire will collapse.
Now, please sit back and enjoy the long video below.
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