Ferguson, author of Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, has no objection to an American empire, as long as it is a liberal one actively underwriting the free exchange of goods, labour and capital. Further, he writes that "empire is more necessary in the 21st century than ever before" as a means to "contain epidemics, depose tyrants end local wars and eradicate terrorist organisations". 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 US 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 idea 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 Americanisation has occurred, he writes.

Overall, this is a trenchant examination of a uniquely American dilemma and its implications for the rest of the world. --Shawn Carkonen, Amazon.com

Book Description
Is the USA an empire? Their government claims not. Despite the conquest of two sovereign states in as many years, despite the presence of more than 750 military installations in two-thirds of the world's countries and despite his stated intentions to "extend the benefits of freedom... to every corner of the world", George W. Bush maintains that the US has never been an empire. "We don't seek empires", insists Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "We're not imperialistic."

Nonsense says Niall Ferguson. In Colossus (accompanied by the TV series of the same name), he argues that in both military and economic terms, the US is nothing less than the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. Just like the British empire a century agao the US aspires to globalise free markets, the rule of law, and representative governments. In theory it's a good project says Ferguson... yet the US shys away from the long-term commitments of man-power and money that are indispensable if rogue regimes and failed states are really to be changed for the better.

This is an empire with attention deficit disorder, imposing unrealistic timescales on its overseas interventions. Worse, it's an empire in denial - a hyperpower which simply refuses to admit the scale of its global responsibilities.

And this chronic myopia may also apply to domestic US politics... when overstretch comes, it may well come from within.

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