ON BEING AN IMPERIALIST STATE

BOOK REVIEW

NEMESIS:THE LAST DAYS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, CHALMERS JOHNSON, METROPOLITAN,2006

Over the past several years there have been a rash of books on the subject of the United States as a dominant imperialist power continuing in the tradition of the Roman and British Empires. In fact this subject has become something of a cottage industry if a google search is any indication. These inquiries have noticeably mushroomed in the wake of the presumptions about preemptive war of the current George Bush Administration, particularly concerning the quagmire in Iraq. The thrust of most of the current analysis, and this premise applies as well to the present book, has been centered on whether and to what extend American imperialism is merely a governmental policy question.

This implies that prior to the Bush debacle America was apparently not a classic imperialist power. Not so. One can clearly trace the main imperialist policy of ‘creating spheres of influence’ at least since the bloody Spanish-American War in the 1890’s. Moreover, Leninists have argued, and I agree, that the central thrust of modern imperialism is driven by the need for expanding markets under the international capitalist system. Policy, to a great extent, merely reflects those underlying demands. Notwithstanding my political and analytical differences with the author it is always good to find a solid analysis of the current state of American imperialism by a non-Marxist source. Chalmers Johnson has written such a book and all of those who seek to do something about getting rid of the imperialist system should pay attention to his arguments, if not to his “solutions”.

Johnson lays out, as befits the nature of the subject, a comparison between the current of American imperialism and the previous ‘high’ imperialist regimes in Rome and Britain. While comparison with previous imperial systems is interesting it does not distinguish enough one salient fact that makes the current situation exceptional. American imperialism makes the old Roman and British systems seem like punk bush league operations by almost every measure, militarily, economically, socially and culturally.

Johnson cogently notes the massive and deep expansion of American military presence in most of the countries of the world in the post-World War II, and particularly the post-Soviet period. This is a manifestation of the old classic idea that trade follows the flag. Mr. Johnson provides many interesting other pieces of information here and one should mass the information for further use. As for Johnson’s political conclusions they are rather timid and refer back to a classical liberal program of curbing the excesses of the imperial system rather than getting rid of it. This is in line with the by now old timeworn idea of a mythical American Republic of Virtue, a capitalist republic that is. Obviously that is where militant leftists part company with Mr. Johnson. Nevertheless this is a book one needs to read to be armed with the latest information in the struggle against American imperialism. No doubt about it.