Use of the Phrase "American Empire"

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

This has always irked me, at some points more than others. The irony is that, despite the historical perception of imperial aspirations as something to be avoided, the phrase is often used by the conservatively-minded to bemoan a perceived decline in the United States' power and influence. Regardless, I tend to think of it as an attempt to sound "cool" by imposing a sense of grandeur and majesty on the subject discussed. Perhaps it's my own aversion to modernity- it doesn't seem appropriate to saddle the events of the last 25 years with an aura that would be appropriate for civilization-making phenomena.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Freedom phrase when used to criticize American foreign policy. Horrible phrase and extremely creepy when used to encourage more of this kind of policy.

[angus]

Use of the Phrase "American Empire"

FF.  Also, it's the name of a book by Andrew Bacevich, of BU (my alma mater).  Check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/American-Empire-Realities-Consequences-Diplomacy/dp/0674013751

It's a bit dated now, but still a good read.

[Blue3]

It annoys me.

Or rather, the people who tend to use it tend to annoy me.

I understand wanting to cut the military, cut our military bases, stop conducting so many raids and bombings. But saying we're an empire, treating it black and white and we're the evil... it's just intellectually lazy and dismissive of other facts.

[Green Line]

Freedom phrase when used to criticize American foreign policy. Horrible phrase and extremely creepy when used to encourage more of this kind of policy.

This reversed.

[angus]

American simply refers to the indigenous peoples of North America or South America, or to a citizen of the U.S, or is generally a reference to the United States.

An empire is a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority, or it is something resembling a political empire or an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control

If we put these together we get American Empire.  I don't think the term is meant to be offensive, and I don't think, as cathcon suggests, that it is meant to sound cool.  Is it modern?  Well, to the extent that there were many American empires (the olmec, the huastec, the mixtec, the aztec, the Tihuantinsuyu, the Maya, etc.), long before the age of conquest, it is not necessarily modern.  But to the extent that it specifically refers to the hegemony of the US in world affairs, then it is fairly modern.  The Monroe Doctrine is probably where it began, but it has since evolved into:  (1) the political unit into which the United States has evolved and the vassal states in the Americas subject thereto;  (2) a general reference to the cultural, military, and economic hegemony of the United States.

I think it's a reasonable and inoffensive term.  It is also useful, since it reminds of how badly twisted our government has become since the days of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  I guess I'm a bit optimistic in the sence that such a reminder will act as a slap in the face.  I'm no fan of The Donald, or of his wall, his impropriety, his general disdain for polite conversation, or of his lack of geopolitical curiosity, but I have to admit that his anti-imperialist rhetoric has some appeal.  We might applaud those who remember that imperialism doesn't really best suit our economic ends.

[Santander]

Freedom phrase when used to criticize American foreign policy. Horrible phrase and extremely creepy when used to encourage more of this kind of policy.

This reversed.

[The Mikado]

American simply refers to the indigenous peoples of North America or South America, or to a citizen of the U.S, or is generally a reference to the United States.

An empire is a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority, or it is something resembling a political empire or an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control

If we put these together we get American Empire.  I don't think the term is meant to be offensive, and I don't think, as cathcon suggests, that it is meant to sound cool.  Is it modern?  Well, to the extent that there were many American empires (the olmec, the huastec, the mixtec, the aztec, the Tihuantinsuyu, the Maya, etc.), long before the age of conquest, it is not necessarily modern.  But to the extent that it specifically refers to the hegemony of the US in world affairs, then it is fairly modern.  The Monroe Doctrine is probably where it began, but it has since evolved into:  (1) the political unit into which the United States has evolved and the vassal states in the Americas subject thereto;  (2) a general reference to the cultural, military, and economic hegemony of the United States.

I think it's a reasonable and inoffensive term.  It is also useful, since it reminds of how badly twisted our government has become since the days of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  I guess I'm a bit optimistic in the sence that such a reminder will act as a slap in the face.  I'm no fan of The Donald, or of his wall, his impropriety, his general disdain for polite conversation, or of his lack of geopolitical curiosity, but I have to admit that his anti-imperialist rhetoric has some appeal.  We might applaud those who remember that imperialism doesn't really best suit our economic ends.

Jefferson himself described the United States as the Empire of Liberty.

[Beet]

In kindergarten, I remember my teacher proudly explaining that America was NOT an empire because we didn't conquer lands. This I believed until circa early 2003, when people on both the left and right started using the E word, but I choose to hold onto childhood beliefs.

Of course America is not really an Empire. We do not have a great number of peoples under a single sovereign authority, we are one people: the American people. You could make a case for Guam or Puerto Rico, but it's marginal.

[angus]

Interesting.  I don't remember hearing about empire in grade school, including Jefferson's comment, although I think he was using the term loosely.  I do remember in the 80s the Soviet Union being called the evil empire.

The first time I think I heard the term applied to the US was in late 90s.  Then, early in the Bush administration, just after September 11, 2001 when we invaded Afghanistan, I started hearing it quite a bit.  The Empire Strikes Back was the meme of the day. 

In any case, I don't think American Empire an inaccurate description.  You can call it Manifest Destiny if it makes you feel better, but the US has been in an expansionist mode since its inception.  We're clever about it now.  In the late 40s, we created a loose confederation of nations and gave ourselves and our friends permanent veto powers in all elections.  At the same time we doled out spreading around money like an upstart mafioso, which bought us at least five decades of love.  We built major highways through central america and made sure to involve ourselves with all their elections in order to have the "good guys" in charge of our fruit and oil supplies.  Also, we let our entertainment industry do most of the culture-export business and we let our universities educate millions of foreigners every year and carry our ideas back to their homelands, which frees up the government to focus on diplomatic and military adventures.  I'm not such a conspiracy theorist that I think there's a grand plan for all this; it has just worked out that way.  By anyone's definition, we have the greatest, most influential, and most pervasive empire in the world at the moment.

[The Mikado]

I think the term American Empire is best used as a historical one about the early 20th century and the Philippines. The Philippines had a third as many people as the US itself and was a hugely significant colonial holding.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I think the term American Empire is best used as a historical one about the early 20th century and the Philippines. The Philippines had a third as many people as the US itself and was a hugely significant colonial holding.

I was unaware of the population numbers at the time- that makes acquisition of the Philippines sound much more dramatic!

[Blue3]

The Philippines are still about a third of US population, at over 100 million, one of the largest populations in the world.

Behind only 12 countries: China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan, Mexico, and Ethiopia.

In fact, with the Philippines at #13, these are the only 13 countries in the world with a population over 100 million... and together, these countries are over 60% of the world's population.

It's probably the reason WHY we didn't hang onto it at least as a territory.