Sep 28, 2018
1 Min read time
Just outside of Tucson, at the Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, more than 4,000 decommissioned military aircraft sit patiently in the dry heat. These old bombers, jets, and helicopters, arranged in neat rows and geometric formations, together form the largest aircraft “boneyard” in the world—a strange spectacle when viewed on Google Earth, as our cover image shows.
A boneyard, though perhaps not a graveyard. The climate provides near perfect storage conditions: while some aircraft will be broken down and cannibalized for scrap metal, others may be “reanimated” and returned to active use. Civilians employed by the base, for example, have converted old fighter jets into aerial target drones.
The Tucson air force base is a symbol of U.S. military power and an emblem of the life of empire—how empires are born in lethal force, follow an organizational logic, and then, just when you think they have crashed and burned, you discover that they are lying dormant, ready to strike again.
This Boston Review forum revolves around these ideas—the motivations for empire, its life and consequences, and its surprising resilience. As part of a cross-disciplinary project, our contributors grapple with the economic, technological, racial, historical, and rhetorical elements of empire. Whatever their disciplinary angle, they have approached the theme with intellectual imagination and a sense of urgency.
“All history,” as Maximillian Alvarez notes in his essay, “is the history of empire—a bid for control of that greatest expanse of territory, the past.” Our hope is that by examining and understanding this history, we can strengthen the fight for a better future.
...we need your help. Confronting the many challenges of COVID-19—from the medical to the economic, the social to the political—demands all the moral and deliberative clarity we can muster. In Thinking in a Pandemic, we’ve organized the latest arguments from doctors and epidemiologists, philosophers and economists, legal scholars and historians, activists and citizens, as they think not just through this moment but beyond it. While much remains uncertain, Boston Review’s responsibility to public reason is sure. That’s why you’ll never see a paywall or ads. It also means that we rely on you, our readers, for support. If you like what you read here, pledge your contribution to keep it free for everyone by making a tax-deductible donation.
September 28, 2018
1 Min read time
Copyright © 1993-2020 Boston Review and its authors.
Printing Note: For best printing results try turning on any options your web browser's print dialog makes available for printing backgrounds and background graphics.
Join the conversation
Confronting the challenges of this moment demands all the moral and deliberative clarity we can muster. While much remains uncertain, Boston Review’s responsibility to public reason is sure. Sign up for our newsletters and don’t miss a thing.
