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Avoiding The British Empire: What it Was, and How the US can Do Better
The British Empire was a lot more important than most recognize. Its propagandists, 100 years ago and today, like to pretend that it was just one among many competing empires.
This book shows that, in fact, it was the first of only two countries that has managed to run the entire world. The United States is the second. The British Empire died in the flames of the two world wars its mistakes created. This book tries to identify the lessons we need to keep the US empire from ending the same way.
This book shows that, in fact, it was the first of only two countries that has managed to run the entire world. The United States is the second. The British Empire died in the flames of the two world wars its mistakes created. This book tries to identify the lessons we need to keep the US empire from ending the same way.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 26, 2019
6 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Robert Morris
6 books10 followersRob Morris isn't really an expert in anything. But he loves him some history. He is an attorney, but now works full time making short films that explain this delightful world of ours. His broad base of knowledge helps him ask questions that other people don't.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MoFree
http://www.youtube.com/user/MoFree
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 2, 2023
I've been following the author's work for roughly a year. I originally found him when I was an ardent libertarian and was very receptive to his views on foreign policy. As time went on, I've stuck to the same geopolitics but left the simplistic world of anti-government behind. I think this sentence about the author from the blurb summarises the book perfectly.
'Robert Morris isn't really an expert on anything, but he really loves him some history'
The book really doesn't feel or look as though it was written by a tenured academic at Princeton. Instead, the entire book comes off as a smart guy's summary explanation of everything; and it really succeeds. Clearly well-researched and with concise prose, Robert offers a fun read. It is basically an overview of English history in the last 500 years, highlighting the most important events and ignoring the least. Over time the authors arguments get stronger and stronger, before being consolidated in the 19th century, where he spends the most time.
Morris's argument goes somewhat like this; The British built the first globe-spanning empire. Others had gotten close like the Dutch, and there were impressive local empires like the Mughals or Rome, but it took the British to bring about the first truly global empire. This empire was largely unchallenged from 1815 to WW1 before being superseded by the United States and its global empire which began from 1945 to the present (and still going strong). One of the author's greatest strengths in both this book and his other work is his apt comparisons. The mistakes of the British are perfectly paralleled to that of the United States. From the 2nd scramble for Africa to the construction of formal empire in the Middle East and the pacific, the United States is falling into the same traps the British one did. This is important for the world and the global peace US empire has created. Robert seeks to avoid the same destruction that ended the British empire when the US empire eventually ends (though probably not for a while yet).
Besides the 19th and 20th centuries, the author describes most of human history as a playground for 'thugs' or elites exploiting land and peasants to fight each other. This 'thuggish-ness' felt very similar to Why Nations Fails’ 'Extractive Institutions' concept and there is some truth to this argument. However, it feels a little simplistic to describe all premodern human political development as thuggish. For a random example, Justinian's body of civil law (reformatted in the Napoleonic Code) certainly was not an unbiased justice system (and nor is ours) but it is the basis of most European legal systems. Justinian was certainly a thug and did many thuggish things but he left an important legacy that many rely on today.
Overall, the book is an awesome read for anyone into geopolitics. Background knowledge is helpful but the language and argument is certainly accessible for everyone. If you consider yourself an average geopolitics nerd then read this book, you might find yourself convinced.
'Robert Morris isn't really an expert on anything, but he really loves him some history'
The book really doesn't feel or look as though it was written by a tenured academic at Princeton. Instead, the entire book comes off as a smart guy's summary explanation of everything; and it really succeeds. Clearly well-researched and with concise prose, Robert offers a fun read. It is basically an overview of English history in the last 500 years, highlighting the most important events and ignoring the least. Over time the authors arguments get stronger and stronger, before being consolidated in the 19th century, where he spends the most time.
Morris's argument goes somewhat like this; The British built the first globe-spanning empire. Others had gotten close like the Dutch, and there were impressive local empires like the Mughals or Rome, but it took the British to bring about the first truly global empire. This empire was largely unchallenged from 1815 to WW1 before being superseded by the United States and its global empire which began from 1945 to the present (and still going strong). One of the author's greatest strengths in both this book and his other work is his apt comparisons. The mistakes of the British are perfectly paralleled to that of the United States. From the 2nd scramble for Africa to the construction of formal empire in the Middle East and the pacific, the United States is falling into the same traps the British one did. This is important for the world and the global peace US empire has created. Robert seeks to avoid the same destruction that ended the British empire when the US empire eventually ends (though probably not for a while yet).
Besides the 19th and 20th centuries, the author describes most of human history as a playground for 'thugs' or elites exploiting land and peasants to fight each other. This 'thuggish-ness' felt very similar to Why Nations Fails’ 'Extractive Institutions' concept and there is some truth to this argument. However, it feels a little simplistic to describe all premodern human political development as thuggish. For a random example, Justinian's body of civil law (reformatted in the Napoleonic Code) certainly was not an unbiased justice system (and nor is ours) but it is the basis of most European legal systems. Justinian was certainly a thug and did many thuggish things but he left an important legacy that many rely on today.
Overall, the book is an awesome read for anyone into geopolitics. Background knowledge is helpful but the language and argument is certainly accessible for everyone. If you consider yourself an average geopolitics nerd then read this book, you might find yourself convinced.
November 23, 2023
Very good history read from a pacifist perspective. Acknowledging patterns doesn't mean we escape what is naturally unavoidable. Loss aversion is a psychological factor that will play it's part as it did ever since humans appeared, no matter the wisdom of any hegemon civilization that has existed throughout time.
Masters of the world don't go down without a fight.
Masters of the world don't go down without a fight.
November 28, 2022
Well, i’ve first read dalio’s last book about human cycles and so. This is a thousand times better book, with much better structure and far more interesting points. I do not understand how this book is not more well known and published in different lenguages and with first tier publishers.
December 20, 2019
One of the best books I've ever read on history/geo politics. Draws parallels and offers a way for the US to avoid the crashing downfall of the British Empire. Well written.
December 19, 2023
Excelente. Muy buena perspectiva al respecto de los imperios globales y sus razones de éxito y fracaso.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews