Reaction & Commentary
Had long agreed that the united states was exceptional in the modern world whether it was because of its disproportionate and powerful military influence its economic dominance or its diplomatic power the u.s occupied a place like no other on the global stage the united states of america was a
Global hegemon this term like most every term in politics has an imprecise definition with wildly different interpretations however at its core hegemony in international politics is defined as the dominance of one country over all others the ability for one state to exercise power on the international stage with minimal
Resistance this dominance can be on the military economic or cultural front but for a time the u.s arguably led all three today this hegemonic role is questioned more than ever before the possibility of a multipolar world long derided as impossible in the heyday of american imperialism now seems to many
As all but certain in this episode we’re looking critically at the united states role as a global hegemon we’ll examine its origins its endurance its present state of decline and the conversations that have always surrounded that contentious topic let’s start with its origins for some u.s hegemony seemed near-inevitable exceptionalists led by
Theorist lewis hearts in the 1950s were some of the first to argue as much in a theory now called american exceptionalism which is quite simply the idea that the united states is exceptional among the nations of the world specifically exceptionalists argue that the us’s origin as a nation
Isolated from the feudal kingdoms of europe has made it unique in its early adoption of liberal democracy and the republican values of private property legal equality representative politics and crucially laissez-faire capitalism that ideological exceptionalism when combined with an ability to develop rapidly and far away from the wars between european states would eventually
Lead to and justify the us leading the international community or so the theory goes for how simple this idea was it rang true to a lot of political thinkers and who can blame them when hearts introduced his theory of exceptional american hegemony the us was very clearly a global superpower from the
Second world war the u.s had inherited an image as a military superpower backed up by a nuclear arsenal a network of allies in what became nato and a rapidly expanding map of military and naval bases on the economic front the u.s was not only the world’s wealthiest country
But the marshall plan had built europe’s economy on the palm of the us’s invisible hand breton woods a u.s led economic partnership that gave birth to the imf and the world bank tied the developed world’s economy to the american dollar and the funds for development aid to poorer countries to
The west finally when the berlin wall came down with the ussr a couple decades later the u.s declared victory over the economic political military and cultural contests it was by all accounts the leader of the world in every domain for some this signaled a new era in global politics american political scientist
Francis fukuyama went so far as to proclaim it the end of history while some could argue his thesis deserves a bit more nuance its most basic conclusion was that the question of political ideology now had only one answer global liberal democracy so-called western liberal thought had won and with this victory would follow
The homogenization of the world’s most powerful nations until human government had a singular liberal form history had come to an end and at the end of history stood the united states this is the world in which the us’s power as a hegemon thrived of course the us had
Always been a country of outsized control and empire from the original westward expansion and the genocides of native american populations to the colonization of the philippines hawaii the panama canal zone the virgin islands puerto rico guam american samoa and the mariana islands the u.s government was
Never one to be satisfied with its reach but hegemony brings an entirely new dimension to this exercise of force economic dominance while the marshall plan nato and the close alignment between western nations maintained the safety of u.s hegemony the resultant expansion of global capitalism and its neocolonial chains brought in new
Economies to bolster its power in this sense globalization and the internationalization of finance can be seen as the ultimate act of u.s hegemony transnational corporations the introduction of which into developing nations was compelled by the high cost of exclusion from liberalized trade the economic structural adjustment programs by us-led international finance
Institutions and violent u.s interventions make up the united states contemporary extended arm while some choose to understand the dominance of international finance as a challenge to the us’s political power this interpretation is misguided globalization and internationalized free trade is by and for the united states it
Has done more to accrue the power of the us by funneling power and wealth away from developing nations and to america then any exercise of military strength ever could that is not to say that military power was not a welcome recourse for the assertion of american
Hegemony in a world where the u.s saw itself as the global superpower american exceptionalism and american power only served to justify interventionism to establish the beneficial web of globalized liberal trade during the cold war the united states happily funded led or otherwise supported large-scale massacres by far-right groups in southeast asia and
Latin america against leftists and critics of the new american global order in more recent history the bush doctrine and its claimed right to unilateral military action to quote democratize or bring freedom to the middle east operated in the same fashion the consequential forever wars military-industrial complex and deteriorated geopolitical situation are
The very real scars of this hegemonic entitlement and globalized liberalism this is where we find ourselves today following the humiliating withdrawal from afghanistan the kovid pandemic the trump presidency and its anti-institutionalism and the instability of american domestic politics the question of american decline has seen a surge in attention
Many are looking at the u.s like they once looked at rome or the british empire a great power overextended and due for contraction that said where some see events like afghanistan as a marker of the end of the us’s claim to supreme global power others simply see it as a
Second vietnam a failure to be sure but not one significant enough to challenge the massive global power the us has carefully built for over 70 years same goes for every other arrow in the knee of the hegemonic power for others these are more than just events they are a
Refutation of the very logic that has upheld american domination for declinists those who believe in american decline the kovit 19 pandemic in particular has laid bare the tangibility of american and liberal capitalist erosion many saw in the death toll of the pandemic which hit the u.s particularly hard the failures of free
Markets and their collaborating governments which could only respond to mass infections with apathy and callous disregard the concentration of wealth into the hands of a fortunate few and a reluctant state intervention into a privatized economy that did nothing to prevent mass homelessness and food insecurity inequality and precarity have
Only deepened and the country that once sat at the top could hardly respond to its viral assailant let alone lead the world in the charge against contamination for another group of political thinkers this decline began years ago both the critics of american hegemony and its staunch defenders pointed to the contest
For the top spot as it grew on the horizon the economic growth of china russia europe and india positioned these regions as counter powers to the american-led system where once the us’s share of the global economy dwarfed all other countries the playing field at the top has seen some narrowing europe now
Legislates more confidently when american companies like google and facebook breach european law and china has not only achieved the number 2 spot in record time but has used its wealth to supplant american reach through development aid in many countries with programs like the belt and road initiative and the new development bank
Budgets are starting to look comparable between top countries and american industry no longer calls all the shots other rich countries have regained some lost sovereignty yet another group views the situation differently denying that american hegemony ever existed these thinkers propose instead that its imagination was only a clever bit of
Storytelling that serves as a post-hoc justification of the interventionism of the american empire weaving the failures and violence of the us’s liberal regime into a greater narrative in which even the most bloody acts are justified by the inevitable bend of the arc of history towards justice meaning here the global liberal order
As one of the most studied concepts in international relations there is far from a consensus on the topic of american decline and part of the reason there are so many theories about the decline of u.s hegemony is because this isn’t the first time it’s been theorized declinism has roots going back nearly as
Far as the concept of u.s hegemony itself for a while the soviet union posed a hegemonic threat to the us then japan then china europe india and in the last few years china again each time a foreign economy surges a political ideology threatens american-led liberal capitalism or a military force swells
Declinists emerge from the woodwork to announce the imminent end of the american empire this time their predictions might be correct or they might not multi-polarity a world where multiple states have a relatively equal share of power looks very likely to us today but who’s to say that will remain the case
This video will not be another brick in the edifice of decline as speculation as unsatisfying as it might be i can’t give you a concrete answer to the question is u.s hegemony coming to an end no one can but you can have a little speculation as
A treat if you want my two cents on the subject as limited as my perspective is here you go i believe the contradictions within american society have advanced to a degree where the average american no longer blindly accepts the notion that the us is the greatest place on earth as
More and more talking heads appear on our tv screens to defend capitalism american interest and socialism continues to rise while wages remain stagnant the cost of living continues to rise while other countries have gotten their caseload under control the american death toll continues to rise try as
Politicians may to paint china as an existential economic and cultural threat to our way of life fewer and fewer americans are willing to beat the drums of war against a nation that is clearly on a more stable trajectory than the united states china is in a far better position than previous hegemonic threats
To stay the course push back against the us and win over the entire developing world to a more socialist understanding of global economics does this latest instance mark the end of u.s global domination maybe i do believe that the u.s is in a more precarious spot than at
Any point in its history but it’s impossible to say for certain regardless it might not ultimately matter whether the u.s continues to hold a hegemonic role or not global attitudes will shift even if it is simply perceived to be in decline we’ve seen this happen time and time again when the first russian
Nuclear bomb was successfully detonated in a test and the cold war threatened american hegemony the u.s lashed out in proxy wars bumped up domestic surveillance and led a campaign of anti-communist propaganda across the country leftist organizers and association members were subjected to a popular hysteria and panic stoked by
Government and media figures and found themselves blacklisted and jailed regardless of their innocence or the committing of any crime americans were led into unnecessary proxy wars on the claims that standing by would mean the end of america and american freedom in 2001 when islamist terrorism challenged the us’s military hegemony with
Asymmetrical warfare the united states lashed out in the middle east bumped up domestic surveillance and militarization and led a campaign of anti-muslim propaganda hate crimes against muslims surged and americans were led into unnecessary wars on the claims that standing by would mean the end of america and american freedom in 2016
When the chinese economy began to turn heads in western nations a new politician who liked to tell it like it is convinced a little under half of the electorate that china was part of the reason that their beloved country wasn’t great anymore the u.s lashed out in
Trade wars against china and led massive propaganda campaigns reaching an apex during the first year of the covet 19 pandemic hate crimes against people of asian heritage surged and every news outlet warned of an imminent economic war with china the outcome of which would define the place of america and
American freedom in the world every single time u.s hegemony is painted as being under threat we see the same response entire sections of the population are depicted as traitors to the american cause freedom is put on the line and retaliation is made to seem inevitable it’s always us or them
In the next 10 years the question of a multipolar world may well have an obvious answer the united states and countries like china russia or those of the european union may have adversarial relationships or a more collaborative approach to global governance though i wouldn’t bank on the latter in any case
Whatever the outcome whether the american century is truly coming to a close or not the important thing to remember is that this time the catalyst is a growing skepticism of the global capitalist status quo developing nations have been exploited and bullied by capitalist oppressors for decades and now despite the western power’s best
Efforts anti-capitalist sentiment is beginning to take root both abroad and at home especially as nations like china indicate a willingness to help smaller countries get out from under the boot of u.s imperialism whether the global neoliberal order will survive another few decades is hotly
Debated as is the status of the us as a global hegemon but rest assured that we are all living in very interesting times and it’s only getting started after many months of waiting the first episode of my nebula original series the new f word is finally live the number of
Comments and messages i’ve gotten asking about when the series will debut has been crazy so i’m thrilled to announce that as of right now you can finally watch episode 1. this series would not be possible without the funding and support of curiosity stream and nebula the streaming platform built by all your
Favorite youtubers including me over the next year we’ll be releasing one episode every month or so for a total of 12 episodes each one delving into another aspect of the insidious ideology of fascism the best way to watch the new f word is by signing up for the curiosity
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