Here is an awesome synthesis in 86 minutes by Professor Michael Hudson on the mechanisms used by the financial oligarchy to live their parasitical lives. Examples presented are the Athens-led Delian League, the Roman Oligarchy and what else, AZAEL, the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment. In a nutshell : loot everyone, bleed the so-called allies & impoverish the metropolitan population in the last phase before the inevitable cataclysmic collapse, most probably accelerated because of stupid decisions by a deeply corrupted ruling class.

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A personal note, the word Empire for me is not a 6 letters dirty word, so I avoid using it when speaking of AZAEL because using it is to glorify a group of gangsters. Remember the booklet by Smedley Butler? "War is a racket" ;  I even consider the mindless association of the word "Empire" to AZAEL as part of the pervasive & nefarious Anglo-Zio-American propaganda. China, Russia, Iran, because of their glorious pasts, dynamic present & civilizational achievements, are N.E.C.s (Nation-Empire-Civilizations). We humans need food, safety, mind development, relations, dignity, honor & glory (to consciously identify oneself to a group with high civilizational achievements: past, present and expected in the future in order to have an appropriate pride giving us a spine in life).

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Some will prefer the word Republic (Res Publica aka the Common Good) to Nation-Empire-Civilization, why not ? The Chinese equivalent to Republic is 天 命 (Tian1 Ming4) The Mandate of Heaven. And the Mandate of Heaven has two essential phases : first 小 康 (Xiao3 Kang1) Moderately Prosperous Society & 大 同 (Da4 Tong2) Great Harmony. — Arrivederci ! Quan