United States - Republic or Empire

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an overview of the economic basis of the United States' war machine, the concentration of power in the executive branch and the factors that are most likely to decide the fate of this once great nation as it continues to drive towards imperialism at the risk of democracy. The tremendous clarity in this article makes it, in my opinion, required reading.

What does this have to do with Sustainable Development? - everything. An understanding of the political and economic lay of the land will assist in a SD design which takes these factors into account as much as possible. For eg. the repercussions of whatever is happening in the U.S. will have profound direct impact on Canada. The fallout from the unsustainable path that the U.S. has committed itself to (and Canada, largely as an extension of the U.S- and yes, it hurts to say that!) suggests that S.D. must include, as much as possible, support from an entire community, for it to withstand the pressures exerted upon it by the dominant system in demise. This broad support can help create a transition that provides for basic needs of a population and resists a freefall collapse of a society unprepared.