Re Cyrus's [6862]:
> However, I tend to
> believe that one has to treat the whole question of hegemony and
> effectiveness of socioeconomic institutions in a holistic manner and in a
> manner of continuity and (structural) change. United States, as we know
it,
> was a part of a system (and era) that is long gone. We have inevitably
> entered into an era, that for the lack of better terms, is called: 'era of
> globalization.' For serious political economists and radical socialists,
> this means a world submerged within the social relations of capital.
> Capital, as a social relation, has already gone beyond the traditional
> distinctions of 'the First, 'Second,' and 'Third World.' I am not
claiming
> that there is no distinction among these three entities, but to deny that
> there is any fundamental theoretical difference, other than the notion of
> uneven development among them.
Where do imperialist and 'imperialized' nations fit into this picture?
> In this context, one has to look to the
> social relations as the ultimate hegemony. Or, in the era of
> 'globalization,' capital ('social capital' in Marx's sense not Becker's!!)
> has a global hegemony. This has some bearing on US position and behavior
in
> a similar fashion as the implosion of the Pax Americana one did.
On your general point re the US, I agree (I think, i.e. if I understand
you correctly.) I think there has been a tendency for many radicals
in recent decades to push the concept of hegemony and to tend to
de-emphasize inter-imperialist rivalries and other national and
economic rivalries. You might recall that at the time of the Gulf War,
during Bush I, many radicals pushed the idea that the world
had entered a new period -- the 'New World Order'. Yet, the so-
called 'New World Order' was very short-lived indeed. Thus, the
alliances developed at the time of the Gulf War quickly broke down
in the period that immediately followed -- and with that both Bush's
dreams of a NWO and many radicals expectations of a fundamentally
new NWO period quickly vanished.
In solidarity, Jerry
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