Western Imperialism in a Global Perspective

Introduction to the Examining Empires topic

In my studies of the chronic impoverishment of Third World states, I have come to the conclusion that frequent interference by wealthier, parasitic states is the main culprit behind underdevelopment. Thus, to properly understand underdevelopment, we must examine how wealthy states and empires function as parasitic entities. Typically, an empire consists of an imperial core and a periphery. The core is a small territory were living conditions are relatively high and the economy is well-developed. The periphery is a larger territory that is controlled either directly or indirectly by the imperial core. Lands within the periphery are drained of resources and purposely kept underdeveloped in order to fuel the inner economy of the empire. The core thus serves as a nucleus for the empire that drains wealth from the periphery. Armies, police forces, and economic leverage is used to enforce this system of domination.

The Roman Empire was an example of an early form of this imperialism. It used its military and economic might to subjugate many regions in the Mediterranean. Entire conquered civilizations were drained of wealth and its citizens forced into slavery in order to feed the imperial core in present-day Italy. Most of the historical records from that time were written by privileged Roman scholars who gave a very biased account in favor of Rome. Subsequent historians have also glorified the majesty of Rome, an attitude which reflects their privileged liberal-academic background. The operation of the Roman Empire also parallels many aspects of these historians’ own modern empires, causing them to sympathize with the ancient oppressors. Historians more recently have challenged the narrative of Rome being an epicenter of progress and benevolence. Michael Parenti offers an excellent alternative look on the Romans in his 2003 work, The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome.

Indeed, many aspects of the Roman imperium can be found in modern empires. Some of the more blatant forms of imperialism, such as invasions and colonialism, are no longer permitted under the new global order. Justifications now have to be made for these practices in order to make them seem more benevolent than past empires while essentially operate the same way. One must closely study the psychology of empire before one has the tools to deconstruct imperialism. This entails not only understanding how the political elite operate, but also how they influence the opinion of the common citizens of the imperial core. Seemingly benign sciences like intelligence testing have been promoted in order to justify scientific racism, colonialism, and social stratification. Stephen Jay Gould covers the dangers of these pseudo-sciences in his work, The Mismeasure of Man.

The greatest beneficiary of imperial wars of conquest and plunder has been the American Empire. The bountiful land that the US sits upon was gained entirely through carefully-planned military campaigns and systemic genocide. To the present day, America's bloody past is massively downplayed in history books and popular media. Many historians have worked to dispel the mythologized origins as America as a peaceful and democratic "Empire of Liberty". Some have even made comparisons of American nationalism to Nazism. In The American West and the Nazi East, Carroll P. Kakel notes the similarities in American and Nazi expansionism in rhetoric and policies. In Hitler’s American Model, James Q. Whitman examines American use of legal system to disenfranchise People of Color (PoC) and how the Nazis used this precedent to create an even more extreme system.

There are some who make the claim that the US has "progressed" from its more violent tendencies and is now a much softer power. All of my personal research contradicts this notion. The settler violence of the American proto-empire was a means to an end, and that end has been achieved with the establishment of an empire from "sea to shining sea". Only after amassing enormous wealth and consolidating global power did the US feel comfortable enough to issue empty apologies and express regret over its past actions. The refusal to make most simple of overtures, such as Landback reforms or slavery reparations, or even teaching non-revisionist history in schools, shows that the character of the US Empire has changed little in the past two centuries.