More than any other country, the United States in the post-war era lionized the individual at the expense of community and family. It was the sociological equivalent of splitting the atom. What was gained in terms of mobility and personal freedom came at the expense of common purpose. In wide swaths of America, the family as an institution lost its grounding. By the 1960s, 40 … [ Read more ]
Author: Wade Davis | Source: Rolling Stone | Subjects: America, International
The United States, virtually a demilitarized nation on the eve of the Second World War, never stood down in the wake of victory. To this day, American troops are deployed in 150 countries. Since the 1970s, China has not once gone to war; the U.S. has not spent a day at peace. President Jimmy Carter recently noted that in its 242-year history, America has enjoyed … [ Read more ]
Author: Wade Davis | Source: Rolling Stone | Subjects: America, International
No empire long endures, even if few anticipate their demise. Every kingdom is born to die. The 15th century belonged to the Portuguese, the 16th to Spain, 17th to the Dutch. France dominated the 18th and Britain the 19th. Bled white and left bankrupt by the Great War, the British maintained a pretense of domination as late as 1935, when the empire reached its greatest … [ Read more ]
Author: Wade Davis | Source: Rolling Stone | Subjects: History, International
Fluidity of memory and a capacity to forget is perhaps the most haunting trait of our species. As history confirms, it allows us to come to terms with any degree of social, moral, or environmental degradation.
Author: Wade Davis | Source: Rolling Stone | Subjects: Life & Society, Sociology | Anthropology
Anthropologist Wade Davis on how COVID-19 signals the end of the American era.
Author: Wade Davis | Source: Rolling Stone (August 6, 2020) | Subjects: America, Excerpts, History