Why America Is Not a New Rome - Couverture rigide

Smil, Vaclav

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0262195933 ISBN 13 : 9780262195935

Editeur : MIT Press, 2010

Synopsis

Why America is Not a New Rome An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles. Full description

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

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. On the surface, the vision of America as the new Rome has resonance. There are obvious, intriguing parallels and amusing--even disconcerting--similarities. The America-Rome analogy deserves a closer look, and this is what Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, offers. He does this by focusing 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 in the two states and the importance of machines and energy sources; 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.

Revue de presse :

"Why America Is Not a New Rome is significant because, for the first time, it puts comparative perspectives on Rome and the United States in proper and much-needed historical context. This is a timely and valuable intervention." --Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University "Repetition by pundits and literary commentators in the mass media has entrenched in people's minds the notion that America is a new Rome. Smil's book, tightly argued and rigorously documented, is a concise and persuasive scientific demolition of the Rome-America parallel, totally deflating the usefulness of the analogy as a tool of historical analysis. Why America Is Not a New Rome is a much-needed corrective." --Paul Demeny, Distinguished Scholar, Population Council, New York

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: MIT Press
• Date d'édition: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0262195933
• ISBN 13: 9780262195935
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 232