The Rise and Fall of the American Empire

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A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within – Ariel Durant

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In The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon outlines the life and death of what was arguably the greatest empire to ever exist. Rome, like most empires, consumed itself from within while there were plenty of enemies chipping away at the edges ready to pounce when the time was right. Time and space do not allow me to retrace the steps of what caused the fall of the Roman Empire, but having read the book, it is easy to find similarities between Rome then and the United States now.

First, what is an empire? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary uses the following: a. a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority, or b. something resembling a political empire, especially an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control.[i]  

There is no debate about whether Rome was an empire, but there is room to debate if The United States is one today. I believe the U.S. is an empire even though it does not resemble what people often think of when using the term. Here are a few reasons why I believe this.

1. We have 50 states and 14 territories spread across nine time zones.

2. We have approximately 750 known military bases in 80 countries or more. Add in the classified locations and those where other agencies of the U.S. Government exist and the number is north of one thousand.

3. We have Dozens of protectorates.

4. We are a military, economic, and cultural superpower.

This looks like an empire to me.

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Darin Gaub

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