The Age of Hyper-Imperialism
A new report redraws the terrifying lines of global power.
Global events sometimes seem like a lethal chaos — violent, intermittently explosive, but without pattern or shape. Western forces seem more like terrified tank crews in the nighttime jungle, high on hallucinogens and firing blindly at anything that moves.
Even to their own citizens, the actions of Western governments seem to lack clear goals. Why invade Iraq? Why back Israel’s murderous violations of international law — even if, as is the case with Joe Biden, it may turn out to be political suicide? The list of seemingly incomprehensible actions goes on and on.
Campaigns like Manifest Destiny or the Cold War were tragic and murderous, but at least it was clear what they were after. What’s driving Western powers today?
The Tricontinental Institute for Social Research recently published a report on what it calls “Hyper-Imperialism.” While the report raises as many or more questions as it answers — it couldn’t do otherwise — I consider it an important step toward understand the current stage of global power.
The authors define “hyper-imperialism” as “imperialism conducted in an exaggerated and kinetic way.” The authors comment that:
“The spasmodic quality of its exertion is felt by the millions of Congolese, Palestinians, Somalis, Syrians, and Yemeni living under US militarism whose heads instinctively jerk for cover at sudden sounds.”
They say a dying animal is the most dangerous creature of them all. The same may be true of empires.
Here are some excerpts from the report:
“Hegemony is historically lost in three stages: production, finance, and military.”
“The United States has lost hegemony in production, though it still has some remaining areas of technological hegemony, including those related to the military. It is seeing its financial hegemony challenged, though still in the very early stages …”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
