And what rough beast, its hour come round at last...? 


The point has been made before, but seldom as succinctly 

Just stumbled upon: a New York Review of Books article from last summer. Money quote:

Historians and pundits who leap aboard the bandwagon of American Empire have forgotten a little too quickly that for an empire to be born, a republic has first to die. In the longer run no country can expect to behave imperially—brutally, contemptuously, illegally—abroad while preserving republican values at home. For it is a mistake to suppose that institutions alone will save a republic from the abuses of power to which empire inevitably leads. 

Posted: Mon - November 14, 2005 at 02:29 PM          

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