Empire

Niall Ferguson argues that the British Empire was not just a historical relic but a foundational force for modernity. He traces key features of the twenty-first-century world, such as economic globalization and the communications revolution, back to Britain's expansion from the seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century. Ferguson suggests that the Empire's story offers lessons for today's world, particularly for the United States as it navigates its own form of imperial power based on economic and military dominance.