‘O, the sky is falling because the Ugly American is destroying the old new world order!’ Can we not take imperialism at its word? And, remember that, above all else, all empires fall, eventually. Job number one for late imperialists is to devise a manner for them to fall peacefully (and maybe gradually) rather than violently (and maybe suddenly). Job number two is to prevent your imperial successor(s) from dividing your own successor state into a thousand hostile pieces. So far, the USA have done rather well. More than a century ago, one of its imperial agents, a governor of the Philippines, said that he was there to rule the archipelago for as long as it took for the natives to learn to rule themselves. They have done, for nearly 80 years, in exactly the way the USA taught the to do, fusing the mores of a planter elite with those of Tammany Hall. They’re also quite good at baseball (so are Cubans, et al.). The Americans’ Augustan age lasted only about two decades. Its empire has been in retreat since the 1970s, appearances notwithstanding. Today much if not most of the world is governing itself without American tutelage. Are the world’s great powers about to go to war with one another? Relations between China, Russia, Brazil, India, Japan, and even the EU (ie Germany) are all stable, if not entirely peaceful. The two outliers are NATO (ie the USA) and Israel, both of whom seem keen to start and prolong periodic wars. But smart Americans know that if those two keep it up, they will both probably dissolve. At which point a nuclear-armed Germany, with Russia, may keep the peace in Europe, and the successor nations of West Asia can, at long last, relish a real ‘post-colonial’ moment. But what to say about America’s celebrated ‘soft power’ now that the USA, by abolishing its main aid agency, has abandoned millions of sick and starving people overnight? Sorry, America forfeited its decent respect to the opinions of mankind long ago: with filibusterismo; with atomic warfare; with its invasions of scores of countries and the murder of millions in the name of freedom and self-determination. No doubt that millions of people around the world have also been grateful for American generosity, as they would be from any imperial power. But, unlike many Americans, they have long memories. Today the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of free trade and international comity, of ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’ and ‘multilateralism’ and ‘good governance’ and even ‘self-determination’ are honoured, at least in name, by most nations and institutions around the world. If Americans now exempt themselves, that’s a pity but it’s not a failure. The job has been accomplished. Please allow them and their empire to retreat in peace, with or without a decent bit of dignity. Talleyrand is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Talleyrand that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments. © 2025 Talleyrand |