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Naked Imperialism: The U.S. Pursuit of Global Dominance
During the Cold War years, mainstream commentators were quick to dismiss the idea that the United States was an imperialist power. Even when U.S. interventions led to the overthrow of popular governments, as in Iran, Guatemala, or the Congo, or wholesale war, as in Vietnam, this fiction remained intact. During the 1990s and especially since September 11, 2001, however, it has crumbled. Today, the need for American empire is openly proclaimed and defended by mainstream analysts and commentators.
John Bellamy Foster’s Naked Imperialism examines this important transformation in U.S. global policy and ideology, showing the political and economic roots of the new militarism and its consequences both in the global and local context. Foster shows how U.S.-led global capitalism is preparing the way for a new age of barbarism and demonstrates the necessity for resistance and solidarity on a global scale.
John Bellamy Foster’s Naked Imperialism examines this important transformation in U.S. global policy and ideology, showing the political and economic roots of the new militarism and its consequences both in the global and local context. Foster shows how U.S.-led global capitalism is preparing the way for a new age of barbarism and demonstrates the necessity for resistance and solidarity on a global scale.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2006
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About the author
John Bellamy Foster
84 books198 followersJohn Bellamy Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, editor of Monthly Review and author of several books on the subject of political economy of capitalism, economic crisis, ecology and ecological crisis, and Marxist theory.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2020
Such a wonderful anti-imperialist reading on US foreign policy and its history of global aggression. Prior, I only knew that we spent an indecent amount of money on our military, but I learned a lot about the US military-industrial complex and just how vast our military operations and occupations are from this book.
Foster briefly touches upon sexual imperialism (think women who had to became prostitutes or took on the role of “comfort women” to American GI), which is something I appreciate as an Asian woman who keeps getting told that Yellow Fever is supposed to be flattering. The history of white men “purchasing” Asian women (mail order brides and sex tourism in developing or war razed countries) are the legacy of colonization. Yellow Fever is just an extension of a white man’s desire to “conquer” a subservient Asian woman, so yeah, I’m not thrilled to fetishized by white dudes.
I was really young when 9/11 happened, so I took for granted the threat of WMDs and the need to go to war with Iraq. Now we know that Bush lied to the public, and people had to die for those fabrications. Obviously there is no justification for terrorism and the losses the American people suffered on 9/11, but it was dishonest of the media to take the position that the attacks happened without any military provocation on our side and to attribute the attacks to religious fundamentalism vs American values of liberty and democracy.
The media and our government continue to distort the narrative of the other. I lived my childhood believing that China was dirty, backwards, poor, and embarrassing and that Mao was an evil Commie that killed his people. Now that China contends with America as a global superpower, the conversation has shifted towards China’s human rights issues, censorship, and espionage (laughable, because what do you think the American colonies were doing to catch up with GB?). Sinophobic tendencies have been amplified in recent years by the Uyghur conflict and Covid-19, and I’ve seen many bold calls-to-action for us to “nuke China” on social media. While I do not know enough to address what is exactly going on in Xinjiang, there has been a gross spread of disinformation regarding this issue. This is a strategy of imperialism, in which the media becomes “the explicit agents of militarist propaganda.” China is not perfect, but let’s not forget that in our own backyards, our government has authorized attacks on Muslim countries and put migrants into detention camps. If you cannot remember the past or sniff out the hypocrisy, you are not being critical enough.
Please be more diverse in the media and information you consume. Just because you watch CNN and Fox News does not mean you are engaging with all angles; you are just familiar with myopic US perspectives and our twisted justifications for empire building. That’s not to say that alternative media does not contain biases, but America is not the beacon of democracy it wants you to believe it is. This is coming from someone who bought into the myth of a noble America and trusted the damaging portrayals of “other” countries, including the birthplace of my parents. I am admittedly still very ignorant, but I’m glad to continue to learn/unlearn.
Foster briefly touches upon sexual imperialism (think women who had to became prostitutes or took on the role of “comfort women” to American GI), which is something I appreciate as an Asian woman who keeps getting told that Yellow Fever is supposed to be flattering. The history of white men “purchasing” Asian women (mail order brides and sex tourism in developing or war razed countries) are the legacy of colonization. Yellow Fever is just an extension of a white man’s desire to “conquer” a subservient Asian woman, so yeah, I’m not thrilled to fetishized by white dudes.
I was really young when 9/11 happened, so I took for granted the threat of WMDs and the need to go to war with Iraq. Now we know that Bush lied to the public, and people had to die for those fabrications. Obviously there is no justification for terrorism and the losses the American people suffered on 9/11, but it was dishonest of the media to take the position that the attacks happened without any military provocation on our side and to attribute the attacks to religious fundamentalism vs American values of liberty and democracy.
The media and our government continue to distort the narrative of the other. I lived my childhood believing that China was dirty, backwards, poor, and embarrassing and that Mao was an evil Commie that killed his people. Now that China contends with America as a global superpower, the conversation has shifted towards China’s human rights issues, censorship, and espionage (laughable, because what do you think the American colonies were doing to catch up with GB?). Sinophobic tendencies have been amplified in recent years by the Uyghur conflict and Covid-19, and I’ve seen many bold calls-to-action for us to “nuke China” on social media. While I do not know enough to address what is exactly going on in Xinjiang, there has been a gross spread of disinformation regarding this issue. This is a strategy of imperialism, in which the media becomes “the explicit agents of militarist propaganda.” China is not perfect, but let’s not forget that in our own backyards, our government has authorized attacks on Muslim countries and put migrants into detention camps. If you cannot remember the past or sniff out the hypocrisy, you are not being critical enough.
Please be more diverse in the media and information you consume. Just because you watch CNN and Fox News does not mean you are engaging with all angles; you are just familiar with myopic US perspectives and our twisted justifications for empire building. That’s not to say that alternative media does not contain biases, but America is not the beacon of democracy it wants you to believe it is. This is coming from someone who bought into the myth of a noble America and trusted the damaging portrayals of “other” countries, including the birthplace of my parents. I am admittedly still very ignorant, but I’m glad to continue to learn/unlearn.
Displaying 1 of 1 review