First of all, one might began to ask what Yoshie and Carrol intend by imperialism? I assume it is Lenin's summation, borrowed largely from Bukharin, Hilferding, and Hobson ,and not some of the alternative theories as proposed by Baran, Emmanuel, Amin, etc. It was summarized by Lenin in the following list:
1) the concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life; 2)The mergiing of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of this 'finance capital' of a financial oligarchy; 3) the export of capital as distinguished from the export of commodities aquires exceptional importance. 4) the formation of international monopolist capitalist combines which share the world among themselves; and 5) the territorial divison of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed.
Now Lenin along with Bukarin saw that these blocks of capital were organized along national lines, as indeed they were and that this division of capital along national lines was an important impetus of war. I agree.
However, what of the TENDANCY of capital to organize itself beyond national borders into global blocks of capital? I am not saying that capital is exclusively organized in such a way, but that there is a growing tendancy in that direction.
So, the questions I have been trying to get answers to are (1) how is the Iraqi war viewed from the perspective of global capital? (2) as for these national blocs of capital interested in Iraq, who are they, what are their particular interests and what is the relationship to global capital? (3) Are Bush on the one-hand and, say, France/Germany on the other representing two different capital INTERESTS or two different political APPROACHES? (4) Can the political players Chirac, Schroder, Bush, etc be neatly identified with blocs of capital, how much do purely political concerns (their voting base, etc) affect their position, how do differing ideologies within the capitalist class affect the position?
So, I dont think that the situation is as simple as saying imperialism, Empire, blah blah. I admit that I am seeking answers to the above questions and am grateful to be informed by Professor Bina and others on this list.
As concerns Hardt's concerns about anti-americanism vs pro-europeanism it seems to me that he is simply stating that it would be wrong for the anti-war movement to have illusions about the "goodness" of Europe as opposed to the malevolence of America...in other words, that they should not back either. That the anti-war movement would do well not to back or have any illusions about these "bourgeois states" should not cause such a stir for our enthusiasts of the "Third Internationale".
===== <<Be like me! The Primal Mother, eternally creative, eternally impelling into life,
eternally drawing satisfaction from the ceaseless flux of phenomena.>>
-Nietzsche, "The Birth of Tragedy"
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