RE: How is the American Revolution taught in the UK?
July 5, 2012 at 3:09 pm
(This post was last modified: July 5, 2012 at 3:13 pm by 5thHorseman.)
(July 5, 2012 at 2:54 pm)Moros Synackaon Wrote: Your definitions of Empire are based on bias.
Def Empire:
"An extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority, formerly esp. an emperor or empress."
We're not an empire. We're a goddamn fading super power.
Quote:Informal Empire describes the spheres of influence which an empire may develop that translate into a degree of influence over a region or country, which is not a formal colony in the empire, as a result of the extension of commercial, strategic or military interests of the empire.
Here's a nice quote from a Niall Ferguson piece.
Quote:Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators. ... It is [not] the wish of [our] government to impose upon you alien institutions. ... [It is our wish] that you should prosper even as in the past, when your lands were fertile, when your ancestors gave to the world literature, science, and art, and when Baghdad city was one of the wonders of the world. ... It is [our] hope that the aspirations of your philosophers and writers shall be realized and that once again the people of Baghdad shall flourish, enjoying their wealth and substance under institutions which are in consonance with their sacred laws and their racial ideals.
-- General F. S. Maude to the people of Mesopotamia, March 19, 1917
The government of Iraq, and the future of your country, will soon belong to you. ... We will end a brutal regime ... so that Iraqis can live in security. We will respect your great religious traditions, whose principles of equality and compassion are essential to Iraq's future. We will help you build a peaceful and representative government that protects the rights of all citizens. And then our military forces will leave. Iraq will go forward as a unified, independent, and sovereign nation that has regained a respected place in the world. You are a good and gifted people -- the heirs of a great civilization that contributes to all humanity.
-- President George W. Bush to the people of Iraq, April 4, 2003
We did it before, your government does it now. But as you pointed out, it's on the way down. I'd say thankfully, but China is not a nice alternative.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/5...-or-empire
