03937oam 2200745Ia 450 991078099200332120190503073352.00-262-28829-X1-282-54198-697866125419880-262-28388-3(CKB)2520000000006513(OCoLC)586147551(CaPaEBR)ebrary10367820(SSID)ssj0000344470(PQKBManifestationID)11275600(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000344470(PQKBWorkID)10307666(PQKB)10286704(MiAaPQ)EBC3339115(OCoLC)586147551(OCoLC)647882162(OCoLC)743200679(OCoLC)764532872(OCoLC)816376001(OCoLC)826516842(OCoLC)923252326(OCoLC)961485532(OCoLC)962559017(OCoLC)988449191(OCoLC)991993302(OCoLC)1037936256(OCoLC)1038606804(OCoLC)1045530637(OCoLC)1059121156(OCoLC)1062916717(OCoLC)1081253155(OCoLC-P)586147551(MaCbMITP)8074(Au-PeEL)EBL3339115(CaPaEBR)ebr10367820(CaONFJC)MIL254198(OCoLC)923252326(EXLCZ)99252000000000651320100329d2010 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrWhy America is not a new Rome /Vaclav SmilCambridge, Mass. MIT Press©20101 online resource (239 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-262-52685-9 0-262-19593-3 Includes bibliographical references and index.An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles.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.Smil, a scientist and a lifelong student of Roman history, focuses 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; 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.Power (Social sciences)United StatesPower (Social sciences)RomeWorld politics21st centuryComparative civilizationUnited StatesCivilizationUnited StatesForeign relationsUnited StatesEconomic conditionsUnited StatesSocial conditionsRomeHistoryEmpire, 30 B.C.-476 A.DSOCIAL SCIENCES/Political Science/GeneralSOCIAL SCIENCES/Political Science/Political & Social TheoryPower (Social sciences)Power (Social sciences)World politicsComparative civilization.973Smil Vaclav140188OCoLC-POCoLC-PBOOK9910780992003321Why America is not a new Rome244256UNINA