Five Myths and Realities of the
U.S. Empire
The strategic weakness of the U.S. Empire is found in its failed
military interventions and in the systematic destruction of its
techno-productive structure within the
U.S.
By James Petras
Posted by Bulatlat
Myth 1
The “U.S.” has a huge
trade deficit with “China” amounting to $162 billion in 2004.
Reality: There are two
basic problems with this statement: 1) almost half of the “trade deficit”
is accounted for by U.S. multinational corporations (MNC) in
China exporting to their “home market”. 2)
What is called “China” and the “U.S.” is a fiction as the commercial
transaction takes place within a world network or “empire”, in which the
growth of “exports” and trade “surpluses” accrues to the U.S. MNC and the
trade “deficit” affects the U.S. domestic economy. The Chinese method of
calculating the trade imbalance does not include exports by U.S. MNC based
in China to U.S. companies.
Myth 2
The U.S. Empire has
successfully expanded because of its military activities – wars,
invasions, and special assassination teams.
Reality: In reality
the U.S. military interventions and wars have been the least successful
weapons of empire building – witness the prolonged and costly wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and the popular resistance in Haiti. Imperialist advances
have been most successful in conquering countries with the least cost via
civilian –political intervention, bogus elections and the organization and
financing of client leaders and non-governmental “front” organizations,
and buying off political parties. The cases of the Ukraine, Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan are illustrative. Earlier success include Nicaragua, El
Salvador in Central America. In South America,
U.S. ideological, political and economic influence on and strategic
alliances with reputed “center-left” parties and regimes have successfully
converted Brazil, Argentina,
Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador into free-market clients of the Empire.
Myth 3
Successful electoral
outcomes in the former Soviet Union are a reflection of the growing
popular desire for democracy and free markets.
Reality: Each and
every electoral outcome in the former Soviet Union was organized and
financed by non-elected foreign officials, who set the agenda, elected the
leaders and subsequently incorporated the new regimes into their imperial
orbit. The elections had nothing to do with democracy, and everything to
do with empire building. The proof is found in the rapid privatization and
transfer of public enterprises to foreign capital, the incorporation of
the new regimes in NATO, and the rule by a new corrupt political elite
responsive to the IMF and not the electorate.
Myth 4
“Asia” is a rising
global power challenging US global supremacy.
Reality: This
simplistic “prophecy” has numerous important flaws. First, “Asia” is not a
unified homogenous bloc – some countries are in chronic crisis
(Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Nepal and so on) and others are in
conflict among themselves, while others have formed alliances with the
U.S. against other Asian countries. India, Pakistan, South Korea and Japan
have recently signed economic and security agreements with the U.S.
imperial regime. South Korea and China are in conflict with Japan over
territorial waters and military policies. Taiwan is de facto allied with
the U.S. The U.S. is successfully playing off India and Pakistan to its
advantage. Equally important, what passes for “Chinese” economic power is
in reality U.S. and European MNC anchored in coastal enclaves exporting
back to their companies in the U.S. and Europe. Finally the U.S. has
greatly expanded and deepened its military presence throughout South Asia
with numerous military bases in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,
Afghanistan, Georgia and Iraq – with prospects for new bases in the
Ukraine and the Philippines.
Myth 5
The victory of U.S.
imperialism over Communism has strengthened the technological and
industrial supremacy of the United States.
Reality: The defeat of
Communist and nationalist regimes has led to the rapid
de-industrialization of the U.S. and the continuing relocation of the
leading technology enterprises to India and other countries with cheap
skilled professionals. Increasingly the U.S. economy is a “service
economy: made up of an elite of well-paid financiers, entertainers and
investment bankers at the top and a growing mass of poorly paid,
uninsured, service workers employed in retail trade, restaurants, hotels,
janitorial and clerical work at the bottom. Leading U.S. MNCs, like
General Motors and Ford are only one notch above “junk bond” status, while
all the leading airlines are in or near bankruptcy, firing workers,
lowering salaries, reneging on pension and health programs of retired and
employed workers. Bourgeois economists have argued that the re-location
and outsourcing of employment of manufacturing to less developed countries
would be compensated by an increase in employment in high-skill, high-pay
service jobs in the imperial centers. This has proven to be false: The
MNCs have moved toward outsourcing highly skilled, service work to Third
World countries. Today Microsoft, CISCO, Intel, Hewlett-Packard have all
moved research and design to Bangalore, India, home of 150,000 software
engineers. According to the Financial Times (April 6, 2005. p.4 Special
Section) a total of 826,540 information technology jobs with a combined
salary value of $51.6 billion dollars were exported by the
U.S., Europe and Japan to underdeveloped
countries. Tens of thousands of software engineers in the U.S. are
unemployed or working part-time as “contract workers”.
Conclusion
Paradoxically the
defeat of Communism led to the relocation of imperial capital, which in
turn led to a decline of domestic manufacturing and high technology
industries in the “advanced countries”. While the empire and its main
vehicles, multi-national corporations and banks grow and military bases
proliferate, the domestic economy decays, burdened by debts and deficits,
unstable low-paid, low-skill employment and unemployment for its skilled
professionals and workers. The fastest growing sector in the U.S. is the
growing mass of low-paid service workers competing with even lower paid
immigrant labor. The leaders of the economic and military empire have
little to fear from the “masses” who are more concerned with the death of
the Pope, the pedophile trial of Michael Jackson, shopping at Wal-Mart and
waving the flag, than opposing the empire which is destroying their
livelihoods.
There is no question
that the U.S. Empire is still expanding and that it has successfully
surrounded Russia and China, and its MNCs have succeeded in lowering costs
and increasing profits via relocation. The strategic weakness of the U.S.
Empire is found in its failed military interventions and in the systematic
destruction of its techno-productive structure within the U.S. As the
“superstructure” of the Empire grows, the “domestic base” in the Republic
is rapidly collapsing; demagogic politicians promote mystical religious
fundamentalism, military chauvinism and mass speculation in real estate.
The Empire will collapse not because of competition with Asia or Europe
but because it has become too competitive and in the course has destroyed
its domestic foundations. Posted by Bulatlat
April 17, 2005
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