Costs of Empire
Discussions about empire are carefully controlled and constructed. It’s fine to talk about the Byzantine, Ottoman and British varieties. However, the subject of U.S. empire, when not ignored outright, is couched in euphemisms like the “free market” or “free trade.” Other favorites are “national interest” and “national security.” U.S. global intervention is framed in terms of altruism and good intentions. The costs of empire are borne by Americans, but the profits go to the Fortune 500.
Recorded at the University of Wisconsin.
Speaker
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti was a leading independent political analyst, scholar, and author. Cornel West called him “a towering prophetic voice.” He taught at major colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Democracy for the Few, Power and the Powerless, and Against Empire. He passed away on January 24, 2026, at the age of 92.
Questioning the Unquestionable
“It is not demanded of readers that they embrace my views, but that they reflect upon their own. How seldom we bother to explore in some critical fashion the fundamental preconceptions that shape our understanding of social and political life. How frequently, as if by reflex rather than reflection, we respond to certain cues and incantations, resisting any incongruous notion. Our opinions shelter and support us; it is an excruciating effort to submit them to reappraisal. Yet if we are to maintain some pretense at being rational creatures, we must risk the discomfiture that comes with questioning the unquestionable, and try to transcend our tendencies toward mental confinement.” – Michael Parenti
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