James Laxer's "Perils of Empire"

This book is an entertaining look at the history historical collapse of empires (Egypt, Athens, China, Rome, Spain, England) followed by six chapters that supposedly nail down the case for the upcoming collapse of the American Empire. I'm sympathetic, but not fully convinced.

The historical part of this book is very good. The presentation of the current crisis is adequate but not compelling.

Consider an argument presented for the imminent demise of the US's empire:

The American Empire faces a legitimacy challenge both at home and abroad. ... because the United States was born from an anti-imperialist revolution, Americans are highly resistent to the idea that their country has become an empire. Not only does the Declaration of Independence announce the right of Americans to enter the world as an independent state, it also heralds the right of all peoples to self-government. ...

Along with the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence lies at the heart of the American civic religion of national values. To state the the United states has established an empire is to blasphere against the Declaration. ... A nation that will not admit that it is an empire is not well suited to rule other peoples over the long term.

How can this argument be taken seriously? The refusal by Americans to see that the US as an empire has been in place since the start of the country. So why would this portend the imminent demise of the American Empire now? How is a continuing state a triggering event?

I accept the arguments that the US is overextended, illegitimate, and in self-denial. But Laxer doesn't nail down the argument that collapse is imminent with what I would consider convincing proofs. His analogies with the exhaustion of the English Empire or the Spanish Empire is interesting, but analogy is not proof, or at least not convincing to me. I lived through the "the US is finished" claims of the early 1980s. This is more of the same. Will the end really come this time? Maybe, maybe not. I can't use Laxer's book as a crystal ball. It doesn't really give me any deep new insight that convinces me that this time the US will really fall apart.

But... on the whole the book is interesting, entertaining, educational. So it is worth the read. Just don't expect to come away with dazzling new insights!