The Decline and Fall of the American Republic

The Decline and Fall of the American Republic
Author: Bruce Ackerman
Publisher: Harvard + ORM
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674261364

“Audacious . . . offers a fierce critique of democracy’s most dangerous adversary: the abuse of democratic power by democratically elected chief executives.” (Benjamin R. Barber, New York Times bestselling author of Jihad vs. McWorld ) Bruce Ackerman shows how the institutional dynamics of the last half-century have transformed the American presidency into a potential platform for political extremism and lawlessness. Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the War on Terror are only symptoms of deeper pathologies. Ackerman points to a series of developments that have previously been treated independently of one another?from the rise of presidential primaries, to the role of pollsters and media gurus, to the centralization of power in White House czars, to the politicization of the military, to the manipulation of constitutional doctrine to justify presidential power-grabs. He shows how these different transformations can interact to generate profound constitutional crises in the twenty-first century?and then proposes a series of reforms that will minimize, if not eliminate, the risks going forward. “The questions [Ackerman] raises regarding the threat of the American Executive to the republic are daunting. This fascinating book does an admirable job of laying them out.” —The Rumpus “Ackerman worries that the office of the presidency will continue to grow in political influence in the coming years, opening possibilities for abuse of power if not outright despotism.” —Boston Globe “A serious attention-getter.” —Joyce Appleby, author of The Relentless Revolution “Those who care about the future of our nation should pay careful heed to Ackerman’s warning, as well as to his prescriptions for avoiding a constitutional disaster.” —Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Perilous Times

The Coming Collapse of the American Republic

The Coming Collapse of the American Republic
Author: Robert A. Hall
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011-05-06
Genre: Debts, Public
ISBN: 9781461122531

" ... four threats which are combining to destroy the future for our grandchildren: 1. The incomprehensible debt and unfunded financial liabilities of all levels of government; 2. The threat of uncontrolled, illegal immigration to our economy and culture; 3. The asymmetric war imposed on us by Islamic Jihadists; and, 4. The rise of China as a competitive military and economic power determined to dominate Asia. Taken together, these desperate trends put the survival of America as a united, free and prosperous country in great jeopardy"--Page 4 of cover.

The Coming Collapse of China

The Coming Collapse of China
Author: Gordon G. Chang
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2001-07-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0812977564

China is hot. The world sees a glorious future for this sleeping giant, three times larger than the United States, predicting it will blossom into the world's biggest economy by 2010. According to Chang, however, a Chinese-American lawyer and China specialist, the People's Republic is a paper dragon. Peer beneath the veneer of modernization since Mao's death, and the symptoms of decay are everywhere: Deflation grips the economy, state-owned enterprises are failing, banks are hopelessly insolvent, foreign investment continues to decline, and Communist party corruption eats away at the fabric of society. Beijing's cautious reforms have left the country stuck midway between communism and capitalism, Chang writes. With its impending World Trade Organization membership, for the first time China will be forced to open itself to foreign competition, which will shake the country to its foundations. Economic failure will be followed by government collapse. Covering subjects from party politics to the Falun Gong to the government's insupportable position on Taiwan, Chang presents a thorough and very chilling overview of China's present and not-so-distant future.

The Republic in Crisis, 1848–1861

The Republic in Crisis, 1848–1861
Author: John Ashworth
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2012-08-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1139561030

The Republic in Crisis, 1848–1861 analyses the political climate in the years leading up to the American Civil War, offering for students and general readers a clear, chronological account of the sectional conflict and the beginning of the Civil War. Emerging from the tumultuous political events of the 1840s and 1850s, the Civil War was caused by the maturing of the North and South's separate, distinctive forms of social organisation and their resulting ideologies. John Ashworth emphasises factors often overlooked in explanations of the war, including the resistance of slaves in the South and the growth of wage labour in the North. Ashworth acquaints readers with modern writings on the period, providing a new interpretation of the American Civil War's causes.

Disintegration

Disintegration
Author: Andrei Martyanov
Publisher: SCB Distributors
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2021-05-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1949762351

The United States is undergoing a profound and radical transformation, all features of which point to the fact of its departure at an accelerated rate from its largely self-proclaimed status as a global hegemon. The United States has lost ground in every single category that defines the power and status of a nation in relation to its rivals. This book delves into the reasons for a catastrophic decline of the American nation, addressing a range of factors from the economic (especially energy), to cultural, technological and military factors. America’s deindustrialized economy is now deeply affected by what can only be described as a massacre of her small and middle-size businesses and the implosion of the US commercial aerospace industry. America’s only driver of real growth, the shale oil industry, is facing realities which may make the Great Depression pale in comparison. Disintegration also seeks answers to the precipitous moral and professional decline of the always mediocre qualities of the American elites, from the corridors of political power to those of the military and business, now spiraling out of control. More alarmingly, the trend also points to the possibility of the actual physical disintegration of the United States as a unified entity—whether the divisions are ethnic or ideological. The most profound fault line is cultural—between the Coastal self-proclaimed elites backed by the secular, liberal media and deep state, who promote the most radical ideologies as it concerns gender and race, and the working class majority whom the former polemicize as deplorables, Christian fundamentalists, white supremacists, and climate and science denialists. Investigating these factors sheds light on America’s future which holds very little promise for the country which had once proclaimed itself to be a shining city on the hill. The American collapse is not just coming, we are presently experiencing it. How can we deal with a catastrophe which is unfolding before our very eyes? Disintegration lays out some possibilities.

Building the American Republic, Volume 2

Building the American Republic, Volume 2
Author: Harry L. Watson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2018-01-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 022630082X

"Building the American Republic tells the story of United States with remarkable grace and skill, its fast moving narrative making the nation's struggles and accomplishments new and compelling. Weaving together stories of abroad range of Americans. Volume 1 starts at sea and ends on the field. Beginning with the earliest Americans and the arrival of strangers on the eastern shore, it then moves through colonial society to the fight for independence and the construction of a federal republic. Vol 2 opens as America struggles to regain its footing, reeling from a presidential assassination and facing massive economic growth, rapid demographic change, and combustive politics.

Mortal Republic

Mortal Republic
Author: Edward J. Watts
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2018-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0465093825

Learn why the Roman Republic collapsed -- and how it could have continued to thrive -- with this insightful history from an award-winning author. In Mortal Republic, prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged freedom for autocracy. For centuries, even as Rome grew into the Mediterranean's premier military and political power, its governing institutions, parliamentary rules, and political customs successfully fostered negotiation and compromise. By the 130s BC, however, Rome's leaders increasingly used these same tools to cynically pursue individual gain and obstruct their opponents. As the center decayed and dysfunction grew, arguments between politicians gave way to political violence in the streets. The stage was set for destructive civil wars -- and ultimately the imperial reign of Augustus. The death of Rome's Republic was not inevitable. In Mortal Republic, Watts shows it died because it was allowed to, from thousands of small wounds inflicted by Romans who assumed that it would last forever.

Ready-Made Democracy

Ready-Made Democracy
Author: Michael Zakim
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2003
Genre: Design
ISBN: 0226977951

Ready-Made Democracy explores the history of men's dress in America to consider how capitalism and democracy emerged at the center of American life during the century between the Revolution and the Civil War. Michael Zakim demonstrates how clothing initially attained a significant place in the American political imagination on the eve of Independence. At a time when household production was a popular expression of civic virtue, homespun clothing was widely regarded as a reflection of America's most cherished republican values: simplicity, industriousness, frugality, and independence. By the early nineteenth century, homespun began to disappear from the American material landscape. Exhortations of industry and modesty, however, remained a common fixture of public life. In fact, they found expression in the form of the business suit. Here, Zakim traces the evolution of homespun clothing into its ostensible opposite—the woolen coats, vests, and pantaloons that were "ready-made" for sale and wear across the country. In doing so, he demonstrates how traditional notions of work and property actually helped give birth to the modern industrial order. For Zakim, the history of men's dress in America mirrored this transformation of the nation's social and material landscape: profit-seeking in newly expanded markets, organizing a waged labor system in the city, shopping at "single-prices," and standardizing a business persona. In illuminating the critical links between politics, economics, and fashion in antebellum America, Ready-Made Democracy will prove essential to anyone interested in the history of the United States and in the creation of modern culture in general.

Republic, Not an Empire

Republic, Not an Empire
Author: Patrick J. Buchanan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2013-02-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1621571009

All but predicting the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, Buchanan examines and critiques America's recent foreign policy and argues for new policies that consider America's interests first.