That’s the title of a wide ranging article that my Dutch friend sent me a few days ago. You can read it all at Revolver: America in Decline: Late Republic or Late Empire? This is the consideration that’s at the core of the article: When millions believe that the ruling government is illegitimate, you have the first step towards regime change or revolution. And things have only gotten worse since the election:
The US started to become an empire in 1924-1947, when the US erected the DS agencies, our equivalent of Rome's private armies.
The descent into empire sped up, once general wealth stopped expanding fast (c. 1974), and the new Elites (e.g. Sil. Valley) came to care more about customers in China etc., than about citizens of the empire.
And, it was easier for the DS to intimidate (brass of) the new centralized media (radio, TV, etc.), e.g. w/ sabotage of wires etc.) than to wield threats at the preceding hundreds of newspapers, mags etc.
I think the republic ended with the civil war. Beyond that was federal overreach, constant increase intje number and amount of taxes, and foreign ebtanglements. The last to me is clear indication and function of an empire.
Representative government. At least for a substantial base of citizens.
But their godlessness begat the conditions that led to empire.
In America, many things have happened. Some Christians have sought to use the government to do the good works they should have been doing themselves. Others have abandoned parental responsibilities to the government schools. Still others have been persuaded to support empire-building policies based on lip-service given to their priorities and values. We got away with it when there was a shared cultural context.
The common denominator throughout seems to be laziness, both moral and intellectual. A common malaise of prosperity.
The US started to become an empire in 1924-1947, when the US erected the DS agencies, our equivalent of Rome's private armies.
The descent into empire sped up, once general wealth stopped expanding fast (c. 1974), and the new Elites (e.g. Sil. Valley) came to care more about customers in China etc., than about citizens of the empire.
And, it was easier for the DS to intimidate (brass of) the new centralized media (radio, TV, etc.), e.g. w/ sabotage of wires etc.) than to wield threats at the preceding hundreds of newspapers, mags etc.
I think the republic ended with the civil war. Beyond that was federal overreach, constant increase intje number and amount of taxes, and foreign ebtanglements. The last to me is clear indication and function of an empire.
Sorry, but this looks like the end of an empire.
Representative government. At least for a substantial base of citizens.
But their godlessness begat the conditions that led to empire.
In America, many things have happened. Some Christians have sought to use the government to do the good works they should have been doing themselves. Others have abandoned parental responsibilities to the government schools. Still others have been persuaded to support empire-building policies based on lip-service given to their priorities and values. We got away with it when there was a shared cultural context.
The common denominator throughout seems to be laziness, both moral and intellectual. A common malaise of prosperity.