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Nov. 1, 2004 2000 years ago there was one world superpower - the Roman Empire. They ran the known world for their own benefit, incidentally bringing Roman law and culture to native populations, and controlling their colonies ultimately by the use of force. It lasted a long time; the Eastern half was an important global power right up to the 15th century. A bit over a hundred years ago, there was one global superpower - Britain. A huge proportion of the world was coloured red on the map, and Britain had massive, closed markets for her industrial goods. They did very well out of their empire, but interestingly, the British government was never as keen on expansion as the businessmen were. Where ever they could wriggle out of providing governance while still reaping economic benefits, that was the route they followed. As in Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt. Economic control was the goal. That empire dissolved very quickly because of rapid technical and economic progress around the world, and the one superpower we have today is America. Is it a new imperialist regime? For the moment I think the answer would have to be yes. America has a clear global lead in so many things. Anything relating to future developments in computers and the internet, advanced military technology, aviation, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, plastics - the list goes on and on - is dictated by the size and power of the American market. Likewise with international relationships. No global treaty is going to amount to much if the Americans are not on board. Witness Kyoto and the International Court treaties of recent years. Both effectively dead letters because they did not suit America. If you are a smaller country with concerns about American foreign policy, what can you do about it? Write a letter to the Washington Post? The main instrument of international finance is the American dollar. No other country has the luxury of borrowing large amounts internationally in their own currency. Truly, the dollar rules the world. America dominates global trade - look at their dominance of oil production as an example. And the size of the US market means that producers of anything from software to running shoes think first of US requirements when designing their products. Foreign producers can suffer badly - who wants to be a small country sugar producer competing against American producers with huge subsidies? America is the largest English-speaking block in the world - and English is the language most used for international communication and commerce. Does all this make America the new imperialist power? Well, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.... For the moment - America is the ONE. What comes next? Well, Russia is out of the frame and a resurgence there does not look likely. Europe is big and very pwerful in theory, but in practice they are too fragmented to project global power effectively. Now China - that's going to be interesting. Their economic growth rate is tremendous. Their system of government is very cohesive and quite capable of using force to achieve their desires. Just as with the US, their internal market is big enough to become virtually independent. And they are hungry for power. To me, it looks like a two horse race is developing. It's just a question of when. ------------ About the author: Eric lives in tropical Queensland and writes books - some naughty, some nice - that can be found through Renaissance eBooks (renebooks.com) He reads widely and when he is not thinking about lunch, worries about the state of the world. Email: ericge@westnet.com.au Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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