The United States in the course of its short history has gone from colony to colonizer. One could define acts of colonization moving into French and Spanish / Mexican controlled areas on the continent (causing Texas to fight for freedom and eventually causing war with Mexico) or later crossing the waters to "influence" Hawaii, The Philippines, and Cuba. These last two are significant, as they were colonial conquests outside of the contiguous States gained during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Indeed, in the early 1800's, the Monroe Doctrine could be interpreted as the States stating that they alone would colonize the Western Hemisphere through "Manifest Destiny,” although both were more or less a bluff until the latter part of the century.
In late ancient times, Rome, the supreme power of the known world, kept order, established trade, made civic improvements, and culture thrived under the "Pax Romana” after colonial conquest. Today, for the forseeable future, whether we like it or not, whether we continue to violate our Founding Principles in the process, we have become "The Policeman of the World," with a few current notable exceptions, and have instituted a worldwide "Pax Americana.”
We could therefore conclude that these United States are indeed a post-colonial society, since there's nothing left on Earth to colonize! Yet it soon could be a Chinese flag joins the Stars and Bars on the Moon, and other worldly establishments created, and colonization resumes again.
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