Ending the American Century: From World War II to World War Trump — Part 1

Most empires eventually fall to foreign invaders, this one has decided to extinguish itself

Sources: Life cover, Luce clip, sale sign. Composition by yours truly.

“The American Century” was a term introduced by Henry Luce, the founder of Life and Time magazines, in a Life editorial in February 1941. The purpose of Luce’s essay was to encourage Americans to end their isolationism and enter the war against Germany in Europe. That goal was achieved 10 months later with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Luce’s description of “the American Century” stuck, and became a convenient catch phrase for representing America’s mercurial rise as the preeminent postwar power.

The American Century — also sometimes called the American Empire or Pax Americana — usually described as some combination of the following features:

• An explosion of economic growth and technological innovation, fueled by the adoption of oil as the world’s primary energy source.
• A strong commitment to internationalism, creating and funding numerous rules-based international institutions like the UN, NATO, the OECD, the World Trade Association, and the World Bank.
• American military dominance based on anti-communism, anti-terrorism, and a thriving military-industrial…