Re: American Imperialism?

From: Zero Powers (zero_powers@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Mar 18 2000 - 14:32:12 MST


>From: "Robert Wasley" <rpwasley@ix.netcom.com>
>
>Daniel Ust wrote:
> > This makes it sound like that phase is over. America appears to be very
> > imperialist of late... I gather it depends on how one defines
>imperialism.
> > Surely, controlling other nations' internal politics is one indicator.
>If
> > so, then in the past ten years, America has interfered in Somalia,
>Haiti,
> > Bosnia, and Serbia. It's used military intervention in all four cases
> > mentioned. This is aside from the various and often routine bombings of
> > other nations -- Iraq, the Sudan, Afghanistan.
> >
> > Maybe there's some dividing line I'm missing here.
>
>The dividing line is the motivation for intervention. In the early 19th
>century
>Manifest Destiny was originally a "line in the sand" to the European powers
>to cease their colonial endevors in the new world. When the US became more
>powerful it became the justification to settle the continent and to expand
>over-
>seas i.e. Spanish-American war, Central and South America, Caribbean. The
>Cold war era was to keep markets and resources accessible for "free world"
>use. Since the end of the Cold war the United States has been acting more
>as a first among equals (all qualifications attached) in conducting police
>actions providing social stability in order that economic and political
>stability
>can follow and we all benefit.

Right, that is *not* imperialism. Imperialism is extending a nation's
authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and
political hegemony over other nations. The US is not doing this. We are
basically acting as the referee in the world's international wrestling
matches, and enforcing the rules when we notice low blows. No, no one
appointed us as the referee, but we're the biggest kid on the block and have
assumed the role of shot caller by default. Maybe its a good thing, maybe
its not. But it is definitely *not* imperialism.

-Zero

"I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past"
--Thomas Jefferson

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