Globalization, Democracy and Terrorism by Eric Hobsbawm (01/10)

Old socialist critiques American imperial project of the Bush years. Crisis of state legitimacy as global trends affect citizens in ways governments cannot ameliorate. Unstable, unprecedented balance of power. Exploitation of the terrorist non-threat. Differences between British (int'l trade, direct governorship of colonies, non-messianic) and American (home market, satellite states, universalist revolution) world empires. Effortless summations of things you knew but had never woven into a tight and cogent argument. Apparent command of all regional histories.