Can U.S. Workers Embrace Anti-Imperialism? by William Fletcher, Jr.
No doubt one is a wretched plebeian harassed by debts and military service, but, to make up for it, one is a Roman citizen, one has one's share in the task of ruling other nations and dictating their laws. -Sigmund Freud, _The Future of an Illusion_ (1927)
The period between September 11, 2001 and the invasion of Iraq raised many questions about the psyche of the U.S. public in general and the U.S. working class in particular. The ability of the Bush Administration to utilize fear and patriotism to refocus attention away from pressing domestic issues has been astounding. The Republican Congressional victories in November 2002 were nearly unprecedented and most likely would not have happened had the focus on Iraq not emerged during the prior summer.
The widespread fear that resulted from the terror attacks on September 11 is understandable. The assault on civilians through the destruction of the World Trade Center and the use of civilian aircraft as weapons were certainly crimes against humanity. However, the ability of the Bush Administration to link all sorts of real and perceived threats to the personality of Saddam Hussein (and prior to that, Osama Bin Laden), as well as to create what looks like a state of permanent war, has resulted in a situation of perpetual anxiety. It has also enhanced the foundation of a pro-imperial front, presumably representing the U.S. people, against the rest of the world. This front has led many people, including those of good intention, into believing that any and all concerns and disagreements expressed overseas or at home about the objectives of U.S. foreign policy are without foundation. Instead, it is argued, any and all methods to guarantee "our" security must be entertained, regardless of the cost.
For these reasons, the danger of a domestic police state has risen to levels not seen since the Nixon Administration. Additional dangers of a cowboy foreign policy in the interests of strengthening a U.S.-dominated global capitalist empire place the entire planet at risk and certainly do not increase security for anyone.
In this situation, a fundamental question emerges. Can a working-class-based, anti-imperialist movement emerge that shifts U.S. foreign policy and, in the long term, lays the foundation for the transformation of the U.S. state? In order to answer this question, we must ask ourselves some difficult questions about labor, "race," and empire. It must be said at the outset that much of our focus will be on the organized sector of the U.S. working class, in order to consider the strategic and tactical options for the creation of a new set of politics through a transformation of organized labor. . . .
[The full text of the article is available at <http://www.monthlyreview.org/0703fletcher.htm>.] ***** -- Yoshie
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>