1st Edition
America after Empire The Vision for a New America in the 21st Century
After the end of America’s longest (20-year) war in Afghanistan and Iraq that cost more than $6 trillion and nearly half a million lives, what does the future hold for America and the American people in the 21st century? In this timely and important book, Berch Berberoglu provides an eye-opening account of the history of the American Empire from its inception to the present, with prospects for its future. Examining the worldwide expansion of the American Empire over the course of its turbulent history in great detail, Berberoglu assesses America’s imperial legacy in a sober way, highlighting its failure to come to terms with the enormous cost of this adventure in imperial overreach. But Berberoglu sees light at the end of the long, dark tunnel, when the American people will awaken and lead the way to a new America after empire in the coming decades of the 21st century.
Biography
Berch Berberoglu is Foundation Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of Oregon in 1977. He has been teaching and conducting research at the University of Nevada, Reno, for the past 45 years. Dr. Berberoglu has written and edited 33 books and many articles. His latest books include Globalization in the 21st Century; Beyond the Global Capitalist Crisis: The World Economy in Transition; The Global Capitalist Crisis and Its Aftermath; The Palgrave Handbook of Social Movements, Revolution, and Social Transformation; and The Global Rise of Authoritarianism in the 21st Century: Crisis of Neoliberal Globalization and the Nationalist Response.
"Empire is oft the child of imperialism, and as imperialist practices multiplied, so too did empires grow. Yet, as sociologist William Graham Sumner warned his fellow Americans in 1924, ‘[t]he thrust of imperialist glory is an epidemic which robs a people of their judgment, seduces their vanity, cheats them of their interests, and corrupts their consciences.’ It does all this and more, including the breeding of reaction against the harsh treatment of oppressed populations, including its own. In his thirty-fourth book, working-class intellectual and acclaimed scholar Berch Berberoglu notes that all empires either fail or shrivel. He offers a detailed description and analysis of how the American empire arose and developed in the first place and why its demise is now at hand. Of equal interest is Professor Berberoglu’s treatment of what America could be after the end of imperialism and the collapse of empire. America after Empire is indeed a must read!"
Larry T. Reynolds, Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, Central Michigan University
"This is an incredibly illuminating and important study of the rise of the American Empire in the 20th century and the ‘awakening of the American people from the shackles of a false dream’, opening up the United States to the possibilities of a ‘new beginning’. There is a voluminous literature and many recent studies and explorations of the dynamics of U.S. imperialism, but none as informative as provided by this book. It both deserves and needs to be read not only by scholars and students of the history and current predicament of the United States and its leading, albeit deeply flawed, role as a global superpower, but by everyone concerned with rescuing the United States from itself."
Henry Veltmeyer, Research Professor of Development Studies, Universidad Autόnoma de Zacatecas, Mexico and Professor of Development Studies, Emeritus, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
"America after Empire makes a valuable contribution towards understanding the past, present, and possibilities for the future of U.S. society. It examines the origins and development of U.S. imperialism and effectively shows its impact on the U.S. and the world today. It does this in a thorough way without compromising on academic rigor, while making it highly accessible to students and the general public. Highly recommended!"
Alan J. Spector, Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, Purdue University Northwest
"Berch Berberoglu is a veteran analyst of imperialism. Both those new to the topic and those who have been following the course of Washington’s endless wars and interventions throughout the world for a long time will find new information and insights here. Above all, this book addresses one of the critical issues of our time: the conditions governing the Decline and Fall of the U.S. Empire."
John Bellamy Foster, editor of Monthly Review; author of Naked Imperialism
