Empire is when one State has de facto sovereignty over foreign/overseas nations / states/ countries / peoples and usually, is occupying them militarily

The US and its people have never sought to do so to another country/people outside the context of subduing a state under the control of war-making dictators.

To make Empire into a metaphor and then strip the metaphor of its metaphorness and elevate it to a real description is just plan wrong.

If we were an Empire, then why are nations allowed to negatively react to Congress’ “Buy America” mandate in the Impoverishiolus Bill?

If we are an Empire, then why must we beg Saudi Arabia to increase oil production when the cost gets high?

If we are an Empire then why is Tim Geithner making a fool of himself in China telling them lies about the Obama and Fed plan to destroy the Dollar?

If we’re an Empire why did Russia invade Georgia, North korea set off nuclear tests, Iran enrich Ur , Chavez seize US Company asssets.

What a strange and bizarre Empire this is. What is more strange is people so arrogant as to regard other people in other nations to be essentially enslaved by America and having no power of thier own .

Is America an empire? Economically I’d say definitely – we can assert our economic will around the world almost with impunity (less so thanks to recent reckless spending, and the future looks even dimmer). Are we an military or political empire? This is less clear but I would say that we are a very soft empire as Tom also points out.

But all this is besides the point. SO WHAT! What matters is if what America brings to the world economically, politically and culturally is a net benefit. I would argue that this is so. Our military bases provide stability. Our culture gives people a taste of the freedoms we enjoy. And our economic might enriches the world.

The Pax Americana has been a good thing for the world. If this is the results of an American Empire then I say “Long live the empire!”

I would suggest looking beyond your Chomsky strawman. Start by googling “Empire by Consent.” Maybe check out some of Niall Ferguson’s work. Empire is a descriptive word, not a pejorative, although the reality it describes is usually (but not always) unpleasant. An empire that is consented to and enjoyed by its members is still an empire.

I’d say that Geoff is quite right to say that we’re an empire (or, at least, acting imperially) and that you’re equally right to point out that it’s a rather soft empire.

Better to be the Koreans than, say, the Mytelines, though both are/were under the influence of an empire.

And since you quote 60 years as your time line – what was arguably the luckiest nation in the aftermath of WWII? – surely Austria where the US occupied one half, forced the Soviets to relinquish their half and there are no troops there today (that I know of) perhaps with the exception of the Marine guards at the Embassy.

Try withdrawing the US forces from Japan and you would soon see how the Japanese feel about that.
Why did Singapore build a naval base specifically to accommodate and allow US Navy vessels (incl for carriers and subs – its quite a complex) free access if the US considered ‘imperial’?
And on and on.
I would suggest there is little empirical evidence to support your contention apart from the usual Chomsky-esque nonsense about big bad America

This is a pet peeve of mine. You kind of see this all the time, where someone talks about American empire and someone else dismisses it because we don’t have an emperor or don’t go around annexing other countries.

You don’t have to be an empire to have an empire. And you don’t have to be constantly conquering and expanding, either. America’s arguably had an empire since the Spanish-American war. We’ve certainly had one for the past 60 years — look at a world map of US military bases.

And if you consider it your right to invade another country to install a friendly government — even if you’re justified, even if you’re installing a pro-human rights democracy — you’re acting imperially.