Empire?

Chalmers Johnson, the less crazy Noam Chomsky, is on the very useful Open Source, talking about his new book Nemesis, The Last Days of the American Republic. There is way too much talk of "empire" and loose comparisons to the British empire. If you want to talk about empire, you have to define it, which he doesn't. I also don't buy his argument that the overseas commitments by themselves threaten democracy. A lot of what he says is true, but if you are looking for a critique of the overall policy assumptions of the US, I recommend you try Bacevich's The New American Militarism.

Thomas Barnett is also on the call, he is nice counterpoint to Johnson. I think Barnett came out a little better because of Johnson's tendency to overstate his case and use scare words. It's a pity as the country needs more questioning voices.