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What we are witnessing today in the currency markets clearly appears to be 'old wine in a new bottle' !

Was British imperialism a force for good? The mention of British imperialism conjures images of a brutal slave trade and obscene profits gained through the imposition of British rule. To add insult to injury, the colonisers saw themselves as superior to those they colonised. India was the jewel in Britain's imperial crown and by plundering its rich resources Britain went from piracy to power, eventually holding sway over vast tracts of the globe. But despite the indisputable causes for shame, the historian Niall Ferguson argues in his new book, Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, that British imperialism had its virtues, and its shortcomings were outweighed by its benefits. It promoted the free movement of goods, capital and labour, he says, and introduced Western norms of law, order and governance, catapulting the world into the modern era. Read more : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/debates/south_asian_debates/2645759.stm

Empire : How Britain Made the Modern World By Niall Ferguson At its peak in the nineteenth century, the British Empire was the largest empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the world's population. In Empire, Niall Ferguson expla...ins how "an archipelago of rainy islands... came to rule the world," and examines the costs and consequences, both good and bad, of British imperialism. Though the book's breadth is impressive, it is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the British Empire; rather, Ferguson seeks to glean lessons from this history for future, or present, empires--namely America. Pointing out that the U.S. is both a product of the British Empire as well as an heir to it, he asks whether America--an "empire in denial"--should "seek to shed or to shoulder the imperial load it has inherited." As he points out in this fascinating book, there is compelling evidence for both. Observing that "the difficulty with the achievements of empire is that they are much more likely to be taken for granted than the sins of empire," Ferguson stresses that the British did do much good for humanity in their quest for domination: promotion of the free movement of goods, capital, and labor and a common rule of law and governance chief among them. "The question is not whether British imperialism was without blemish. It was not. The question is whether there could have been a less bloody path to modernity," he writes. The challenge for the U.S., he argues, is for it to use its undisputed power as a force for positive change in the world and not to fall into some of the same traps as the British before them. Covering a wide range of topics, including the rise of consumerism (initially fueled by a desire for coffee, tea, tobacco, and sugar), the biggest mass migration in history (20 million emigrants between the early 1600s and the 1950s), the impact of missionaries, the triumph of capitalism, the spread of the English language, and globalization, this is a brilliant synthesis of various topics and an extremely entertaining read. --Shawn Carkonen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Buy the book and read more: http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Britain-Made-Modern-World/dp/0141007540/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317037141&sr=1-4 http://www.flipkart.com/books/0141037318?_l=qZBl8t+jD61L+lgB7L9uGw--&_r=AyDhTFMAlP2wZckJwdeo3A--&ref=fc5d3871-d85b-435d-b379-8f6d2620f3c6&pid=vow3f9ooiw

What are the big questions when we study the history of the British empire? http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/intro/overview5.htm

In 'Empire' the text is quite dense (Mahatma Gandhi is mentioned only once or twice), and is of course Niall Ferguson's point of view, but he sure is stirring many in the world, especially the US. He retorts scathingly when he is labeled "Imperialist scumbag", and 'The Guardian', in an article posted a few months back, warned "Never underestimate the irate Professor Ferguson".