'American Empire'

The Triggernometry podcast interviewed comedian Dave Smith last week. The two hosts are British citizens, and Smith is a libertarian who strongly opposes aggressive foreign policy and America’s involvement in wars, whether as active participants or as financial sponsors. Smith’s views were challenged by the hosts, who argued that America is an empire and that the world depends on this American empire. They claimed that if the United States were not the global hegemon, a power vacuum would emerge that would be filled by China or Russia. Smith joked, “Then they would be $38 trillion in debt and not us.” He also argued that the United States is a constitutional republic and was never meant to be an empire. Who is correct? Is America an empire or a republic—and what is the difference? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #362.