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Entry: America: An Empire? Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/america_an_empire#12751 Post contents: Mr. Coulombe has written a thoughtful and well argued article. I thank the editor for making his presence more frequent! Martin van Creveld, the wisest man out there in the topics of war, the state, and rule, gets most empires right in his <i>The Rise and Decline of the State</i>, pp 35-52. Empire, a very old form of rule, is a shakedown racket by a strongman and his cronies, from the Ancient Egyptian empire to the British and American empires. There have only two good Empires and two mixed bags. The mixed bags were the Roman Empire and the Hohenzollern ("the 2nd Reich"). On balance, they did a bit more good than evil. Indeed, seen only in terms of high culture, they left us a rich patrimony. The Two Good Empires were the Holy Roman Empire (the 1st Reich), first under Charlemagne, then Otto, then under the Habsburgs, with its climax under Charles V; and the Austrian Empire. Both were in fact something like confederations (the only kind of "empire" a member of the League of the South can even began to tolerate!), and both were rich and flourishing civilizations. They both held Islam at bay. They both were held together by (1) the most prestigious dynasty in Europe, (2) a common religion in the Catholic Faith, an (3) common enemies. The Protestant Reformation destroy the former, Woodrow the Worst the latter. And the leads to -- Mr. Coulombe is quite correct: Gringos have no business to be in the business of empire. They are a poorly educated and rather stupid people, easily fooled by their leaders, knowing no foreign languages, and knowing even less about foreign ways. Despite their vaulted sense of political achievement -- an achievement destroyed by Lincoln -- their only contribution to civilization has been solely techological, from the McCormick reaper and the cotton gin to the DVD and cell phones. And even most of the achievements, in the latter day, the Japanese have known knew better how to market. They think themselves great business men. The subprime crisis shows this to be false. Better businessmen have been the Flemish, the Dutch, the Swiss, and best of all the Venetians. As for Europe, I welcome a voluntary confederation of sovereign European States -- small states with the break up of Spain, Italy, France, and Germany into independent provinces -- with Otto, Archduke von Hapsburg, and Emperor. Just keep the Brits out. Sent at: 2009 01 07