"In the opening chapters, Friedman discusses America’s place in the world and struggles with some of the questions that perplex thinkers on both the left and the right. Is the United States a republic—or an empire? And if it is an empire, how should its massive power and influence be used? And in such a system, what are the respective roles of the American president, congress, and international institutions like the United Nations and NATO?
In addressing these issues, some of Friedman’s conclusions may prove to be unsettling to some readers. Friedman writes:
I invite readers to consider two themes. The first is the concept of theunintended empire. I argue that the United States has become an empire not because it intended to, but because history has worked out that way. The issue of whether the United States should be an empire is meaningless. It is an empire.
The second theme, therefore, is about managing the empire, and for me the most important question behind that is whether the republic can survive. The United States was founded against British imperialism. It is ironic, and in many ways appalling, that what the founders gave us now faces this dilemma. There might have been exits from this fate, but these exits were not likely. Nations become what they are through the constraints of history, and history has very little sentimentality when it comes to ideology or preferences. We are what we are.
The theme of this book…is that justice comes from power, and power is only possible from a degree of ruthlessness most of us can’t abide".............READ MORE
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