American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century
By Kevin Phillips
Viking, 462 pages, $38
What motivates George W. Bush's America: God or greed? Both, according to U.S. political writer Kevin Phillips, in a distinctly unholy alliance that threatens not only U.S. prosperity and geopolitical supremacy, but American democracy itself. War and terrorism take a back seat in this characteristically erudite, breathless and unrelenting look at trends in recent U.S. politics and economics. As the book's subtitle indicates, Phillips (American Dynasty, Wealth and Democracy) believes U.S. vulnerability will come at the hands of radical religion, oil and borrowed money.
At first glance, the three would seem to have little in common. True, scholars since at least Max Weber have traced the connections between religion and capitalism, and it will come as no surprise that both play an inordinately large role in shaping the contours of contemporary American life. Neither will it shock readers to learn that the pernicious influence of oil distorts U.S. policy, both at home and abroad.
The novelty of Phillips's approach, then, lies not in his choice of threats but in his treatment of them. In three separate but loosely connected sections, he illustrates the extent to which God, oil and debt affect one another. U.S. intervention in the Middle East is obviously driven in large part by the need to maintain secure access to oil. But it is also determined by the theological imperatives of the evangelicals and fundamentalists who comprise the religious right.
For their part, religious conservatives, who now account for a large proportion of the Republicans' base, work in preparation for the "end times" of Armageddon, when Jesus will return to earth, destroy the armies of Satan and lead the faithful to live in a thousand years of peace. The catch is that the end times can only occur once the Jews have governed Israel in security and prosperity — hence evangelical Protestantism's passionate advocacy on behalf of Israel, and hence its support for the ouster of the anti-Semitic evildoer who ruled over a second Babylon from his opulent palaces in Baghdad.
In turn, the United States' oil-fuelled economy requires military expenditures and encourages consumer spending at levels that necessitate heavy borrowing and the accumulation of mountains of debt. In order to sustain such high levels of government, corporate and personal debt, Americans have to rely on foreign central banks, particularly in Asia, to maintain the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency through the purchase of U.S. currency and bonds.
The catch, as Phillips rightly portrays it, is that if oil and religion lead the United States into increasingly dangerous military adventures, or if the country's fiscal situation becomes too precarious, U.S. creditors will begin to call in debts and dump dollars, creating a precipitous economic and political slide that could signal the end of U.S. hegemony. This is a nightmare scenario not only for Americans, but for most of the world — including, most obviously, Canada —because U.S. decline will come neither smoothly nor quietly, and will claim many more victims than just Uncle Sam.
Thus, while the conclusions Phillips draws are sometimes glib and occasionally implausible, they are often startlingly, alarmingly persuasive. For all these reasons and more, American Theocracy should serve as Washington's wake-up call.
Phillips views the prevalence of government, corporate and personal debt as a "global Fifth Horseman," and believes that Americans' "fuelish" oil-dependent lifestyle, centred on booming suburbs and an enduring love affair with the automobile, has led it astray. But like many other recent commentators, from Anatol Lieven on the left to Andrew Bacevich on the right, he is most worried about the rise of conservative Protestantism and its dominant role in the governing Republican coalition.
It is easy to forget that American Protestantism, especially its evangelical wing, was once one of the nation's most progressive forces. From women's suffrage to working conditions to civil rights, it was religious politicians such as William Jennings Bryan and theologians such as Walter Rauschenbusch who led the drive to soften the harsher edges of American life. While evangelical liberals still exist — author, activist and ethicist Jim Wallis, co-founder of Sojourners, comes to mind — they are vastly outnumbered by their ideologically extremist conservative counterparts.
