Colossus: The Price of America's Empire (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "It is commonplace to assume that having been forged in a war of independence against imperial rule, the United States could never become an empire..." (more)
Key Phrases: fiscal overstretch, liberal empire, implicit liabilities, United States, Middle East, United Nations (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The United States today is an empire—but a peculiar kind of empire," writes Niall Ferguson. Despite overwhelming military, economic, and cultural dominance, America has had a difficult time imposing its will on other nations, mostly because the country is uncomfortable with imperialism and thus unable to use this power most effectively and decisively. The origin of this attitude and its persistence is a principal theme of this thought-provoking book, including how domestic politics affects foreign policy, whether it is politicians worried about the next election or citizens who "like Social Security more than national security." Ferguson, a British historian, has no objection to an American empire, as long as it is a liberal one actively underwriting the free exchange of goods, labor, and capital. Further, he writes that "empire is more necessary in the twenty-first century than ever before" as a means to "contain epidemics, depose tyrants, end local wars and eradicate terrorist organizations." The sooner America embraces this role and acts on it confidently, the better. Ferguson contrasts this persistent anti-imperialistic urge with the attitude held by the British Empire and suggests that America has much to learn from that model if it is to achieve its stated foreign policy objectives of spreading social freedom, democracy, development, and the free market to the world. He suggests that the U.S. must be willing to send money, civilians, and troops for a sustained period of time to troubled spots if there is to be real change—as in Japan and Germany after World War II--an idea that many American citizens and leaders now find repulsive. Rather than devoting limited resources and striving to get complex jobs done in a rush, Americans must be willing to integrate themselves into a foreign culture until a full Americanization has occurred, he writes. Overall, a trenchant examination of a uniquely American dilemma and its implications for the rest of the world. --Shawn Carkonen

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (April 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594200130
• ISBN-13: 978-1594200137
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #256,066 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Thought-Provoker, July 7, 2004

By	Thomas M. Sullivan (Lake George, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You will correctly surmise from purusing other reviews of this work that Niall Ferguson's books attract very well informed and thoughtful readers who are not at all reluctant to let him have it if in their view he strays too far into the counterfactual world he helped revive and refine with his works such as "Virtual History." My own take on the rather strong negative reactions engendered by "Colossus" here and elsewhere is that they are generated--like many counterfactuals--by Ferguson's message being taken too seriously on the one hand and not seriously enough on the other. "Colossus" is an essay on possibilities, not a prescription for world domination. It asks--and attempts to answer--the question of why the United States is such a reluctant world leader (in terms of active intervention in its affairs) and explores the possible implications of its shedding its historical aversion to international activism.

What I find lacking in negative reviews is an appreciation, however reluctant, of the value of this inquiry whatever the likelihood of its practical application. And this failure to "get" the message I attribute latently to our historic isolationism and explicitly to the same cause Ferguson highlights as one of the principal reasons why we are unlikely to change our minds: our national attention deficit disorder.

Irag provides the perfect illustration of one of Ferguson's most telling points: we were hardly there before we said we were leaving and then reinforced our apparent disenchantment with the enterprise by becoming politically irrational and transfixed by prisoner abuse and the failure to find WMD's. No reasonable person can argue that if we leave Iraq prematurely, we will have wholly failed to achieve our stated goal of bringing democracy to the Middle East, which conclusion raises the even more compelling public policy question of if we could have foreseen that home front and/or international political pressures were going to prompt us to cut and run, then why did we undertake the enterprise in the first place?

You can't go by me: I am an unabashed and unrepentent Ferguson fan. Every time I pick up one of his books, I feel like I am taking a walk on a pleasant Summer evening with an old friend who happens to be unassailably erudite and enviably eloquent and I am listening to him expound his well-informed views. Neither in these fanciful strolls nor in my critical reading of his works do I feel compelled to agree with him, but I am inexorably forced to think about what he is saying and consider the wonderfully diverse and provocative implications of his musings.

Finally, what troubles me is not whether this or my fellow readers' reviews will prompt you to buy and read this book. No, the question I ask is whether our policy makers ever choose a book like "Colossus" as their summer reading. Our recent foreign adventures suggest to me at least the exercise would be very much worth their--and our--while.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cogently argued; Extremely perceptive, April 26, 2004

By	Lawrence L. Thompson (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The United States of America is a de facto empire; the United States of America is a liberal empire; the activities of liberal empires are on balance beneficial; the United States of America is the only power capable of being a liberal empire; but, the United States of America lacks the financial and political will to fullfil its global responsibilities, which is regrettable, because no one else will do it. This is the thesis of Niall Ferguson's latest book length essay, which is cogently argued and chock full of perceptive observations.

Mr. Ferguson notes that American overseas adventures typically begin with a rapid and effective military campaign but lose steam in the post-war "nation building" period. In particular, the author accuses Americans of having a national "attention deficit disorder" to postwar responsibilities, the notable exceptions being Germany, Japan, and Korea in the second half the the twentieth century. The author's explanation for American nation building success in those three countries is that opposing the Sovier Union gave the United States political and moral freedom to exercise its true imperial proclivities. No national consensus now exists to support current imperial endavours. The book abounds with similar insights.

Most fascinating is the author's thesis that in addition to lacking the political will to empire, the United States may be unable or unwilling to pay the price of empire. This financial failure is rooted in government deficits, and in the future liability to pay the pension and health care costs of its aging population. Interestingly, Ferguson notes that the bulk of this projected financial deficit is in spiraling Medicare costs. How ironic if the Republican impetus to American empire depends on the political will to rationalize the American health care system.

Read this book The most quoted commentator on the American spirit is a Frenchman. Now a Scot adds a timely perspective on the American condition.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sun never sets on the American Empire.................., June 12, 2004

By	Ryan (CT, USA) - See all my reviews

Ferguson explores America's Imperial history from its westward expansion, the Monroe doctrine, two world wars; it's rise as a global economic power, and the war on terrorism.
Ferguson chronicles America's imperial success and failure, attempts to democratize Latin America evidenced by a series of U.S interventions, too often without the sustained attention and high ideals spoken of by the American politicians leading the crusade. Juxtapose that with America's sustained commitment to Western Europe, South Korea, and Japan. Countries which enjoy robust industrial economies, open political systems, and free-market's
When effective, "American Global Leadership", for millions may be the only light in a cruel dark world. When half hearted and unsupported, American efforts abroad lead to the road of unmet objectives and compromised morality.
"Colossus" is a well written, thought provoking, and important text. All the more valuable to the American reader who it seem is in denial of Americas Imperial roots, it's Imperial present and future.
O.K, you don't like the word.... Imperialism......then call it something else. After reading "Colossus", you will find it impossible to deny, that America's global reach, militarily and economically, far surpass anything the Roman's, the British or any other great civilization of the earth could have ever imagined. How can you be against American Imperialism if you are in denial that it exists?

P.S. You may not like (or understand) the message, but don't take cheap shots at the messenger. This book is fascinating, and written with clarity of thought and passion that make an intellectual subject approachable to readers without PhD's.