5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
mixed approaches to complex subject, December 3, 2007
This review is from: Theories and Themes: The Economic Decline of Empires (Economic History S.) (Hardcover)
Over the last couple decades, it's become increasingly obvious that the USA, despite the reluctance of many of its citizens to admit it, has become a world-straddling empire, albeit with certain limitations. If you live here, as I do, you have also become aware that the country is continually hanging on the edge. OK, its military power can't be challenged by any conventional force, but it can be stretched beyond capability since it's a volunteer army with a substantial mercenary presence. We are living over our heads in debt, at least on the national level, but consumption dreams rise ever higher. Education has declined. The underclass is sunk in drugs, crime, and obesity. A lot of industry has fled to places with cheaper labor costs, service industries may or may not follow, and other countries can produce our agricultural bounty a lot cheaper. Waves of illegal immigrants flood the country--hardworking but allowing a downward spiral in wages and employment conditions. Our image abroad has never been lower. Our politicians display hubris and lack of humanity, refusing to cooperate with the rest of the world. A lot of the population is glued to the idiot box to a diet of violence, soaps, and info-tainment news. You'd have to be the proverbial ostrich not to be a bit worried. Is the American Empire in decline or is this just a bad period ? How can you tell if an empire is declining, anyway ? I decided to read Cipolla's volume because it was put together in 1970, before we recognized the full extent of American dominance.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is Cipolla's introduction, which addresses the question directly. Maybe each decline is a story of its own, but there also may be parallels. To answer my own question first, according to the writers in this book, the USA could not be considered an empire in decline as yet, though ghosts are already looming up in the fog of the future. [I hasten to add that no mention of the USA is made at all. This is my interpretation.] In 261 pages, nine authors discuss eight different empires in decline. Well over half the space is taken up with just Rome and Spain (17th century). The other empires discussed are Byzantium, the Arabs, Italy in the 17th century, Holland in the 18th century, the Ottomans and Chinese. The editor managed to round up several top notch authors including Bernard Lewis (the Arabs and Ottomans), M.I Finley (Rome), J.H. Elliott (Spain), and C.R. Boxer (the Dutch). I found all the articles interesting, but that peculiarity of academia which leads people to submit already written essays---originally produced for some other purpose---to volumes like Cipolla's, means that some came across as tangential. For example, the essay on China was obviously "ripped" from the pages of some other work. The author did not even bother to write a new opening sentence, much less a paragraph. We find that the majority of this article is about China's inland trade during the Ming and Qing, not about any kind of decline. Nevertheless, if the decline of empires intrigues you, or worries you as the case may be, you may find food for thought. Foreign invasions or debilitating foreign wars, failure to adapt to new times, failure to innovate, social patterns that encourage uneconomic attitudes, over-taxation, wages and industry spiralling downwards, the collapse of agriculture and waste of resources---all these and more play some part in the economic decline of empires. It's a thought-provoking book. Some essays are easier reading than others, but all are well worth it if this topic interests you. If you are American, it may be considered required.
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