Overall a good piece. A good collection of opinions, I like how the piece covered the issue of America?s own self portrayal, and the historical contrast of roman and American power. However I think the documentary asked the wrong question. Can a historical rigid model be really compared to a dynamic modern capitalist state?

I believe empire in its classical type has long outlived its usefulness. The rise of Capitalism and industrialisation, along with modern communication, has made direct colonisation part of history. America played a major role in the self-determination of colonized people only to expand its own influence in the power vacuum that arose after the fall of the old colonial powers. The model today is still in substance similar to the goals of colonialism but America exerts its influence without the need of direct rule in nations, a task that would be militarily draining.

As long as it maintains its own supremacy in the global markets, along with the adequate power structure in foreign lands to maintain it, there is no need to directly administer power in foreign lands. Colonialism structured the economies, and political balance of whole nations, in favour of foreign powers. America took hold of the favourable situation, with the fall of empire; there is no longer need to recolonize countries that for all intent have long become geared towards serving foreign powers. Empire enabled America to be a major power, but to ask whether America is an empire or not is not only misleading but irrelevant.