[lbo-talk] New Imperialism?

[Michael Perelman]

The example of the Spanish failure to capitalize on its imperialist holdings reminds me of 
an inversion of Jonathan Swift's notion of little fleas on big fleas.  Here you have big 
fleas on little fleas.  The Spanish sucked wealth out of Latin America, while other nations 
did so to Spain, but by making Spain an imperial colony.  Similarly, in the United States, 
you could make the case that the northeast was the greatest beneficiary of slaveholding.  
Neither example would suggest that (1) the North or (2) the United States did not benefit 
from imperialist relationships.  Instead, the wealth and power were redistributed within 
the region.

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu