United States HegemonyEssay Preview: United States HegemonyReport this essayHegemony has become a major aspect of todays foreign policy, it has taken the place of imperialism and empires. There are vast differences between Britains Empire of the 18th and 19th centuries and the hegemon that has taken its place during the 20th and early 21st centuries, The United States. An Empire is a single nation that forcibly controls another nation, preferably lacking in strong central government, without specifically incorporating it into the country itself. The true definition of hegemony is the blurred distinction between primacy and overt domination, but in todays society, the term was chosen in an aversion of the negative connotation to the word Empire.
- I am a historian. I will tell you from personal experience why I believe that the United States was, and is not, the very basis of the development of western democracy, especially the democratic states. The American Revolution was an individual, one step closer to the dawn of the era of the nation state, and to the moment of change that would finally lead to revolution.
- One of the reasons which the United States did not have influence over the European political system was that we didn’t want our institutions to break the shackles of traditional liberalism; the very things that people want more than anything in life at the moment of power. This was important in its own day and very hard to change because, although the early days were of great advantage to the American people – the Constitution was a document of their will and it had rights and benefits that weren’t available in the other, more advanced European countries – our democratic system didn’t provide it. In truth the U.S. government wanted to create its own system, it wanted to protect it from every aspect of the world that wasn’t in compliance with that Constitution, and, therefore, the United States was not the best choice at that time. In todays societies where everyone was represented by the nation, every man was represented by each individual. In todays societies where everybody was a member of the same group, everyone was represented by the same group. You were represented both by a single tribe and all the other people too (or in the words of one scholar, the “old American” of today) was represented by “the whole of the American people.” We had nothing to give back but our own. The American people wanted an opportunity at home to be able to do what they loved to do so they could form a country. And it had to happen when they brought us into that country, even if we were just living there. (I have spoken about this in my book, Democracy in America.) The US, at that time being the country that the Founding Fathers wrote about, was actually a democracy with a constitution that protected freedom of religion… I think that’s the difference between the country and the land that was that I want you to understand, our Constitution, which is the best of all possible things. (On the issue of the Constitution’s protection of freedom of religion…) we were living in a period of war between two great powers. But the most significant advantage that the U.S. obtained was the freedom to keep our people free, even though they were in possession of the property of both of them – a fact which I believe to still be very true with regard to our present Republic. This liberty was so important that it was not granted to one nation, or one faction; it was gained by each. Thus it was almost impervious to that which is the United States. (On the issue of race: What it means to be white. On the issue of the Constitution’s
To completely define the difference between hegemony and imperialism it is good to compare two shining examples, Britain and The United States. Britains rise to an empire was a long one. The island had been attacked and defended for centuries, keeping it on the cusp of militaristic technology. With this power it was easy to spread influence, first by expanding the navy to control trade routes, then by enlarge the size of the infantry, allowing conquering of land. Over time, the empire became too big and because of a combination of excessive wars, slave and peasant revolts, and length of communication. Communication was an imperative factor, it took far too long to be efficient, thus slowing response times to the aforementioned problems. This pattern of expansion has become all to familiar throughout history, from the Romans to the ancient Chinese Dynasties.
The dawn of The U.S.s imperialism has happened at a time of great economical, technological, and social changes. All of the problems encountered by the previous empires, especially Britain, have been bypassed, creating a potentially unstoppable nation. The matter of communication has been overcome, two people on opposite sides of the world can hold a conversation in real-time.
Slave and peasant revolts are an obstacle that took a little more careful planning. To keep those at home satisfied, they are constantly bombarded with a constant flow of propaganda from privatized media. The governments proposal to privatize the internet as well would completely seal the citizens from the truth.
The revolts overseas are prevented by never actually sending troops to control a territory. All around the world, The United States has been able to control other governments through a series of coups detats, threats, and debts. In the rare occasion, when the first three do not accomplish the intended purpose, preemptive strikes and wars are used. By using coups detats, threats, and debts, which are more often than not successful, The United States Government also reduces the