New American Imperialism

The New American Imperialism argues that the United States has entered a dangerous new phase – not merely under an erratic president, but as a nation that has lost its way structurally and spiritually.Jonathan Taplin shows how the republic, founded on a deliberate rejection of empire, has become its purest expression: a nation that spends more on its military than the next six powers combined, while its bridges crumble, its citizens ration insulin, and its democracy is quietly purchased by a handful of tech billionaires. The invasion of Venezuela, the failed war with Iran, the fantasy of a three-trillion-dollar Golden Dome – these are not aberrations. They are the logical endpoint of a system in which the military-industrial complex and the new digital oligarchy have merged into a single governing force.Drawing on Eisenhower's unheeded warnings, RFK's forgotten critique of militarism, and the long shadow of Gramsci's interregnum, Taplin asks the question that haunts every empire in decline: can a republic that has forgotten the difference between strength and domination find its way back?Urgent, clear-eyed, and historically grounded, this book is an essential guide to the crisis of American democracy – and to what might yet be salvaged from the wreckage.