In his new book "Empire: the Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power", Oxford historian Niall Ferguson claims that the British Empire was one of the world’s modernising forces.  He suggests that America, because of its global dominance, is really an empire but is reluctant to recognize it. Is this "empire", with its fiscal deficits and colossal military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, about to crumble too? (Originally aired April 2003)