Bloodless Coup

American Theocracy

So yesterday I finished the bit of fiction I'd been reading for the last few weeks. Now I've finished my latest non-work nonfiction, Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy. Though he has of course been a keen commentator on US politics for decades, I'd never read one of his books before. As to this one, it's dense and depressing, but also rather compelling. Basically it's about three basic dangers he sees the US embroiled in: the rise of religious politics, dependence on foreign oil, and an astonishing rise in the scale of US debt. He discusses how these are interlinked and how the Republican party is a central player in these concerns (often to the detriment of what he sees as the national interest).

All three sections are deeply researched, and I learned a lot. He hits on a few things I hadn't given much thought to. The debt section is filled with things I didn't know, and I really wish I knew more about the economics of Habsburg Spain to get at some of his comparisons (no, not all that he has to say about debt involves 16th-17th century Europe, most of it doesn't, but there are some interesting and disturbing parallels). And along the way he also throws out some interesting thoughts that I hadn't really considered much before (say the realignment of the parties being delayed in the South by Watergate and Jimmy Carter being the Democratic nominee in 1976, and the rise in the country's first strong "religious party" being facilitated by the decline in anti-Catholic bias), and hits on some points that I never understand why they don't get more attention - say, "Left Behind" types regularly being invited to the Bush White House to give policy advice, or the fact that 60% of Americans believe (literally) in Noah's Ark.

Phillips makes a strong case for these three dangers having a toxic effect on US interests - but he also points out why it will be very, very hard to limit their effects. All in all, an interesting read - and I really must learn more about the implications of our gigantic current account deficit.