From the inaugural Jacobin Book Club, a seminar on Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin’s magnum opus, The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. Forced and child labor are embedded in the 21st-century economy — what’s Washington doing about it? Joseph Chamie on how the US could be the world’s most populous country: By opening immigration door, the US could fuel rise of population and power. Daniel W. Drezner on why America's foreign-policy community needs a vacation. Andrew O’Hehir on America’s split personality: Paranoid superstate and land of equality. WTF is wrong with Americans? Willie Osterweil wants to know. Terry Eagleton on how Americans' forthrightness is both their most admirable and their most dangerous attribute. From the Library of Law and Liberty, Frank Buckley on a new critique of American exceptionalism (and more). Rethinking American Exceptionalism: America is certainly exceptional, but that isn’t necessarily something to be proud of. If you see something: Missy Beattie on American narcissism. Leaning Away: David Rothkopf on why America is the real failed state. Is America heading for the same fate as the Roman empire? Edward Luce reviews Balance: The Economics of Great Powers from Ancient Rome to Modern America by Glenn Hubbard and Tim Kane. Kenneth Thomas on how U.S. median wealth is only 27th in the world.
