Cultural historian and social critic Morris Berman talked about his book Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire, published by W.W. Norton. In this book Mr. Berman compared current events in America with the fall of the Roman Empire. Mr. Berman argued that the American empire is in decline due to an overextended economy and a self-destructive foreign policy. He responded to questions from members of the audience.

From the Author:
When I published my previous book in 2000, I characterized the historical phase we were in as a "twilight" period, similar to Rome in the waning days of its late-empire phase. It seems to me that it is not entirely an exaggeration to suggest that since 2000 we have effectively transited from twilight to night, entered a new Dark Age. Thus there are a number of developments that can be characterized as frankly medieval: the triumph of religion over reason, and a progressive rollback of Enlightenment humanism; a massive breakdown of education and critical thinking (the statistics of which will probably strike the reader as surreal); the actual legalization of torture, and its widespread use by the American government; and the growing political and economic marginalization of the United States on the world stage. Equally sobering is that the vast majority of Americans are either ignorant of these developments or actually approve of them, bringing to mind the famous remark by Will Durant that "a great nation is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."



For more on Morris Berman:

http://www.morrisberman.blogspot.com/