Why America Is Not a New Rome

Why America Is Not a New Rome
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 239
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262288293
ISBN-13 : 026228829X
Rating : 4/5 (93 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Why America Is Not a New Rome by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Why America Is Not a New Rome written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-01-29 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles. America's post–Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav Smil looks at these comparisons in detail, going deeper than the facile analogy-making of talk shows and glossy magazine articles. He finds profound differences. Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, focuses on several fundamental concerns: the very meaning of empire; the actual extent and nature of Roman and American power; the role of knowledge and innovation; and demographic and economic basics—population dynamics, illness, death, wealth, and misery. America is not a latter-day Rome, Smil finds, and we need to understand this in order to look ahead without the burden of counterproductive analogies. Superficial similarities do not imply long-term political, demographic, or economic outcomes identical to Rome's.


Why America Is Not a New Rome Related Books

Why America Is Not a New Rome
Language: en
Pages: 239
Authors: Vaclav Smil
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-01-29 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles. America's post–C
The New Third Rome
Language: en
Pages: 258
Authors: Jardar Østbø
Categories: Nationalism
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016 - Publisher: Ibidem Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing on theories of political myth and concepts of nationalism, Jardar Østbø analyzes the content and ideological function of the myth of Russia as a Third
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
Language: en
Pages: 743
Authors: Mary Beard
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-11-09 - Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and
New Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
Language: en
Pages: 231
Authors: Justin M. Pigott
Categories: Church history
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-06-04 - Publisher: Brepols Publishers

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Traditional representations of Constantinople during the period from the First Council of Constantinople (381) to the Council of Chalcedon (451) portray a see t
The Byzantine Republic
Language: en
Pages: 309
Authors: Anthony Kaldellis
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-02-02 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Although Byzantium is known to history as the Eastern Roman Empire, scholars have long claimed that this Greek Christian theocracy bore little resemblance to Ro