Nemesis

Opened up the book review section of the SF Chronicle this morning and read this review, which really articulates what I have been trying to say for a long time. I guess I'm going to have to spring for the book, but for now, the review will have to do. Here are a couple of salient paragraphs from the Chronicle's review. You can read the entire review here.

[Quoting the Chalmers Johnson, the author of "Nemesis."]
"I believe that to maintain our empire abroad requires resources and commitments that will inevitably undercut our domestic democracy and in the end produce a military dictatorship or its civilian equivalent. The founders of our nation understood this well and tried to create a form of government -- a republic -- that would prevent this from occurring. But the combination of huge standing armies, almost continuous wars, military Keynesianism, and ruinous military expenses have destroyed our republican structure in favor of an imperial presidency. We are on the cusp of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire. Once a nation is started down that path, the dynamics that apply to all empires come into play -- isolation, overstretch, the uniting of forces opposed to imperialism, and bankruptcy. Nemesis stalks our life as a free nation."

This passage, and there are many like it, may suggest that Johnson regards the country's doom as unavoidable. Other comments, however, remind us that Johnson intends the book as a call to arms. "I remain hopeful," he writes at the end of his prologue, "that Americans can still rouse themselves to save our democracy." It is a hope that the reader who makes it all the way through "Nemesis" may struggle to share. The litany of governmental misdeeds, ill-considered policies and ethical failures that makes up the bulk of the book may have a paralyzing effect on many readers, particularly given Johnson's frequent reminders as to how many of our government's most destructive activities lie beyond congressional oversight and are invisible to public scrutiny. (As he makes clear, not only do we not know what the CIA does, we don't even know how much money it spends doing it.)

The Roman Empire lasted 400 years. We ain't got a chance in hell of lasting that long.

~ tom