Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire

by Niall Ferguson

Overview

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower

Is America an empire? Certainly not, according to our government. 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 intention "to extend the benefits of freedom...to every corner of the world," George W. Bush maintains that "America has never been an empire." "We don’t seek empires," insists Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. "We’re not imperialistic."

Nonsense, says Niall Ferguson. In Colossus he argues that in both military and economic terms America is nothing less than the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. Just like the British Empire a century ago, the United States aspires to globalize free markets, the rule of law, and representative government. In theory it’s a good project, says Ferguson. Yet Americans shy away from the long-term commitments of manpower and money that are indispensable if rogue regimes and failed states really are to be changed for the better. Ours, he argues, is an empire with an attention deficit disorder, imposing ever more unrealistic timescales on its overseas interventions. Worse, it’s an empire in denial—a hyperpower that simply refuses to admit the scale of its global responsibilities. And the negative consequences will be felt at home as well as abroad. In an alarmingly persuasive final chapter Ferguson warns that this chronic myopia also applies to our domestic responsibilities. When overstretch comes, he warns, it will come from within—and it will reveal that more than just the feet of the American colossus is made of clay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143034797
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/29/2005
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.49(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Niall Ferguson is one of the world's most renowned historians. He is the author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus, The War of the World, The Ascent of Money, High Financier, Civilization, The Great Degeneration, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, and The Square and the Tower. He is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His many awards include the Benjamin Franklin Prize for Public Service (2010), the Hayek Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2012) and the Ludwig Erhard Prize for Economic Journalism (2013).

Read an Excerpt

It used to be that only foreigners and those on the political fringes referred to the “American Empire.” Invariably, they did so in order to criticize the United States. Since the attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001, however, there has been a growing volume of more mainstream writing on the subject of an American empire. The striking thing is that not all those who now openly use the “e” word do so pejoratively. On the contrary, a number of commentators seem positively to relish the idea of a U.S. imperium.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Colossus"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Niall Ferguson.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I—Rise
1. The Limits of the American Empire
2. The Imperialism of Anti-Imperialism
3. The Civilization of Clashes
4. Splendid Multilateralism

Part II—Fall?
5. The Case for Liberal Empire
6. Going Home or Organizing Hypocrisy
7. "Impire": Europe Between Brussels and Byzantium
8. The Closing Door

Conclusion: Looking Homeward
Statistical Appendix
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Every page of Colossus is provocative." —Ernest May

"Amid the seemingly endless writings and decisions about ‘America as Empire,’ the most prominent recent voice is that of Niall Ferguson." —Paul Kennedy, New York Review of Books

Max Boot

If the Guinness Book of World Records ever added a category for 'most productive historian,' Niall Ferguson would have to be a leading candidate for the honor. But he is more than simply prolific: he is also smart, witty and thought provoking. Year after year, he writes books that are the envy of his colleagues, using his deep knowledge of history, especially economic history, to illuminate current events. In Colossus he turns his formidable powers of analysis toward the 'American Empire,' offering a brief history as well as a provocative argument. Ferguson believes that it would be a good thing if the United States were to take over the imperial role once played by Great Britain-but he doubts that Americans have what it takes to be effective imperialists. "Colossus" is sure to shake the assumptions of both fans and critics of the American Empire-including those who deny that such a thing even exists.
— (Olin senior fellow in national security studies, The Council on Foreign Relations, and author of "The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power." )

Editorial Reviews

"Every page of Colossus is provocative." —Ernest May

"Amid the seemingly endless writings and decisions about ‘America as Empire,’ the most prominent recent voice is that of Niall Ferguson." —Paul Kennedy, New York Review of Books

From the Publisher

At 384 pages, Colossus is one of Ferguson's smaller books; but it is his most ambitious effort yet to connect historical analysis with what is happening in the world today. His thesis is simply stated: the United States is an empire, however much Americans might deny that fact; its record of accomplishment in this capacity is not very good; and it should learn from the experiences of earlier empires, notably that of Britain.
— The New York Times Sunday Book Review

John Lewis Gaddis

Like his earlier books, Colossus shows off Mr. Ferguson's narrative élan and his ease in using political, economic and literary references to shore up his arguments about history.
— The New York Times

Michiko Kakutani

Criticism of the U.S. government's imperialist tendencies has become nearly ubiquitous since the invasion of Iraq began nearly a year ago, but Ferguson would like America to embrace its imperial character. Just as in his previous book, Empire, he argued that the British Empire had done much good, he now suggests that "many parts of the world would benefit from a period of American rule," as stability and a lack of corruption that could be brought by liberal imperial government would result in capital investment and growth. Similarly, he says, the British Empire acted as "an engine for the integration of international capital markets." The problems nations like India faced after the British left, he continues, could have been ameliorated if the colonization had been more comprehensive, more securely establishing the types of institutions that foster long-term prosperity. The primary shortcoming of America's approach to empire, Ferguson believes, is that it prefers in-and-out military flourishes to staying in for the long haul. His criticism of Americans as a people who "like social security more than they like national security" and refuse to confront impending economic disaster are withering, but he also has sharp comments for those who imagine a unified Europe rising up to confront America and for the way France tried to block the Iraqi invasion. The erudite and often statistical argument has occasional flashes of wit and may compel liberals to rethink their opposition to intervention, even as it castigates conservatives for their lackluster commitment to nation building. (Apr. 26) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Is America ready to rule the world? Probably not. But, argues the author, it had better gear up to the task. Prolific British historian Ferguson (History/New York Univ.), who has been building an empire of his own with books such as Empire (2003), The House of Rothschild (1999), and The Pity of War (1999), argues that the US is an empire in fact, with client states scattered around the world. Americans are reluctant to accept this fact for many reasons, although in the post-September 11 climate many more are warming up to the prospect; we're made uncomfortable by being likened to Rome, Britain, and perhaps even the Soviet Union, by the thought that our financial, military, and cultural might casts a Green Giant-like shadow across the planet. Not that realpolitikers have been unprepared for the eventuality; Ferguson quotes a Bush administration State Department official who, before Dubya even took office, was urging Americans "to re-conceive their global role from one of traditional nation-state to an imperial power." Well, there are empires and there are empires, and Ferguson suggests that the best of them is a liberal one, one dedicated to the free international exchange of capital, labor, and goods and to upholding the "conditions without which markets cannot function-peace and order, the rule of law, non-corrupt administration, stable fiscal and monetary policies." Ideologically, at least, Americans should be well-equipped to administer such an empire, but we remain an empire in denial of the sort that "tends to make two mistakes when it chooses to intervene in the affairs of lesser states. The first may be to allocate insufficient resources to the non-military aspects of the project.The second, and the more serious, is to attempt economic and political transformation in an unrealistically short timeframe." Prepare, then, for failure-and for agonizing years of involvement in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia. Discomfiting, highly provocative reading, with ammunition for pro and con alike.

Kirkus Reviews